


The Empress of Many Masks

by alleraseh



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ambiguously Gendered Character, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Magic, Morally Questionable Behavior, Royalty, Spies, Vampires, court intrigue, cross dressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-03-21 03:20:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 43,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13732047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleraseh/pseuds/alleraseh
Summary: Levi belongs to the most dangerous class of the imperial court; he is a spy. Levi sees secrets with his own eyes, hears them whispered between bent heads. He’s watched through slats in poorly built ceilings, moved silently through forgotten corridors, coaxed hidden meanings from filtered letters. All in service of the Empress of Many Masks.But an opportunity to free himself from a lifetime of court intrigue presents itself to Levi, an opportunity in form of Eren Jaeger; one of the most powerful members of court and dangerously seductive. Levi is irresistibly attracted to Eren, and he cannot tell whether Eren will be his doom or his rise.To serve in the Court of Many Masks, Levi must learn to wear a mask himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for checking out my fic! I hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> A quick warning: If you're a fan of hyper-masculine Levis, this is probably not the fic for you.

Levi screwed his eyes shut so none of Count Viandur’s seed would get in them, the man grunting loud enough to alert the entire Palace. When he pulled away, the Count patted his hair with a meaty hand and muttered, “You were very good, my Philosofia. I hope you don’t mind if I return.”

After the Count finally left Levi’s chambers, he lit a candle with a hand only slightly shaking and opened the window, letting out the scent of sweat and sex for the cool night air. He could hear Eren Jaeger, the son of the councilman Jaeger, screaming at his servants from rooms not far away. The servants that emerged from his room in the morning muttered and cursed under their breath and the maids grew pallid and faint. This time it appeared some fault had been found in the brandy.

Levi slumped at the vanity, the room only lit by a single candle. The vanity sat out of view of the window, so no one, not a single prying eye could see him slip off the wig and wipe rouge and powder from his face. He took off the dress and undergarments by himself, laying them carefully over the back of the chair. At dawn, the maidservants would tidy Lady Philosofia’s empty room by themselves, knowing how she hated to have any sort of servant in her presence.

Levi left Philosofia’s bed empty and entered the adjoining room, more of a closet designed for her servants to sleep in. A thin mattress lay across the floor, the wood paneled walls letting a draft through. He curled up on the mattress and tried to fall asleep. He could hear Councilman Smith snoring in the next room over, no matter how many of his lovers swore he didn’t.

Erwin had called it the perfect deception. When his mother had been alive, she used to preen over his delicate features—as she called them—his rounded nose and protruding collar bones. She’d say that when she made her return to court again, all the ladies would flock to him. He was glad she was dead so she didn’t have to see him like this.

\- - - - -

Erwin woke him before dawn, before the servants entered, and he dressed hastily in a plain shirt and trousers, an outfit that rendered anyone invisible to the nobility.

Erwin had already written several letters at his desk, some for official business in his capacity as Councilor of the Military, others in careful code to his other spies and consorts, worded so that none of those who read the letter before it reached its intended target would understand its true meaning. “What did you learn from the Count?” Erwin asked carelessly, sipping from his scalding special brew of black tea. He hadn’t even brushed his hair yet. Levi hated him.

He sat on Erwin’s bed because he hadn’t been invited to sit, languishing with his palms placed behind him. Tiredness pounded in a heavy headache behind his eyelids. “The Count groans his old lover’s name when he loses himself,” he murmured. “Her exile grieves him. Perhaps that could be used for our benefit.”

Erwin fixed on him a stern glance. He knew what he was thinking. It was Levi’s job to be a mouth that moved, not one that dispensed advice. He moved onto other subjects, other tidbits he’d picked up throughout yesterday. He’d heard of a carriage bearing the Ackerman seal—the illustrious side of the family, not his—to the Palace. Some whispered that Eren Jaeger slowly lost his mind and that his father grew purple with rage every time someone chanced to mention him. Count Viandur’s poor new bride stormed into the kitchens yesterday and upset an entire roast, causing a few serving maids to be whipped in the courtyard. One of the Empress’s guards had been excused of stealing jewels from her coffers.

It wasn’t idle gossip. Levi had seen these things with his own eyes, heard them whispered between bent heads. He’d watched through slats in poorly built ceilings, moving silently through unused, forgotten, drafty servants’ corridors. Laid in rooms so thick with dust he couldn’t breathe, listening to the murmurs of two councilors below. He’d ghosted into the rooms of fellow nobles, searching the remnants of fire grates and underneath pillows when he heard another spy enter to do the same and hid swiftly under the bed. Memorized seals before he broke them, coaxing the hidden meanings from filtered letters, resealing them identical to how they had been before. All to serve the Empress of Many Masks, Erwin’s sovereign, and his own.

To contend with the Empress of Many Masks, one must wear a mask themself.

\- - - - -

For the past three years, he’d masqueraded as Lady Philosofia, one of the last surviving members of the northern Ackerman clan. The closer a lie was to the truth, Erwin asserted, the easier it was to keep it. He had been transformed into Erwin’s ward, a young woman making her debut at court, hoping to secure a reasonable marriage to lift her out of poverty. Philosofia, who only had the title ‘Lady’ out of politeness, was just shy of twenty, polite and soft-spoken, preferring to listen to those around her rather than speak. Despite her appearance of virtue, the court quickly learned that Lady Philosofia left her door unlocked at night. At first, Levi did it as a way to relieve stress, to create his own drama at court. After all, a noble, no matter how insignificant, without any hidden scandals raised suspicions at court. But then Erwin found out and demanded he incorporate his mornings and nights into his spy work.

The summer season had just started and the nobles flocked to the capital. Those with the Empress’s favor stayed within the Palace itself, and others took up apartments and residences around the city. Levi had lived in the quiet countryside for most of his life and hadn’t yet grown used to the din a hundred nobles and their servants created, but all the same, some part of him liked it; liked the chatter and the smells, a city sweltering in summer. It reminded him of the business of his own family manor, before his parents died.

At present, he dressed in Philosofia’s clothes, a light yellow gown he’d received from Erwin’s sister and sat at a window overlooking the main entrance to the Palace. Many nobles meant to arrive today. Erwin wanted to know the details of each arrival. If the Duke and Duchess of Northon arrived with less servants than last year, alluding to their financial troubles. Which nobles arrived in the Palace for the first time, nervous and starry-eyed. What they wore. How they talked.

Levi sat with some other lesser noblewomen, daughters of knights or guards or soldiers. Their light-hearted chatter and gossip provided good cover for him. A carriage, grander and larger than the others, rolled to a stop in the main courtyard. Stark white and remarkably clean of mud, it bore a symbol of a golden dragon trampling a lion underneath its feet.

“Who is that?” one of the girls exclaimed, in awe of the guards atop snorting horses that marched into the courtyard. A white-gloved arm rested against the carriage window.

“You idiot!” her friend reprimanded her. “That’s the seal of the Ackerman family!”

They glanced sideways at him, but he didn’t make any remarks. His own seal differed slightly, reflecting the years the two sides of the family had spent apart.  
“Why is the main branch here?” they whispered.

Levi felt a headache coming on again. He hoped to the three goddesses that it wasn’t the heir of the Ackerman family, Mikasa, herself.

It was. Princess Mikasa descended from the carriage, dressed fashionably in baby blue. The servants hastily laid down a carpet so her white slippers wouldn’t have to touch the dirt. The Grand Consort herself, Ymir Reiss, stood by the entrance, bouncing up and down on her toes. Mikasa walked carefully towards her, both hands held by servants. A tiny frown creased between her brows, evidence of her discomfort. Levi didn’t know how anyone could be comfortable in such a weighty dress, surrounded by people watching her every move.

“She’s being welcomed by the Grand Consort?” one of his companions whispered. “Is she really that important?”

“She’s the Princess of the Piholan Isles,” Levi replied. “Of course she’s important.”

They stared at him a moment, no doubt recalling his own family’s fall from grace and descent into obscurity. Levi excused himself and left, unable to watch the Grand Consort tersely greet the Princess. He knew he should stay to report to Erwin, but he had to start planning for his own survival. No doubt Mikasa would hear—or already knew—that a member of the separated Ackerman family now resided within the Palace and would want to speak to him. No doubt she’d be confused and suspicious when her cousin Levi seemed to have disappeared entirely, replaced by someone she’d never heard of before. He’d never maintained a correspondence with Mikasa before. But he’d be a fool to assume she hadn’t kept tabs on him.

He fled back to Erwin, risking the careful masquerade. Erwin lingered with one of the other Councilors in the gardens, laughing at every banal comment. Trying to make allies, Levi thought, surly. He recognized the hooting laugh of Councilor Hanji Zoe before he saw them, blocked by some hedges. Last he heard, Erwin had been fuming over Councilor Zoe’s subtle encroachments on his province, but now Erwin seemed to want to make a friend of them. Levi could see the calculation behind every pleasantry. Most likely, they meant to cozy up to each other for their own benefit. Levi snapped, “Step aside!” at the servant who told him Erwin couldn’t be disturbed while involved in important business.

“Councilor Smith!” Levi exclaimed, affecting a high, shrilly voice that no longer pained him to produce. “There’s been an emergency with my wardrobe, and I won’t have the dress I need for the ball!”

Erwin stopped in the middle of lifting a mug of tea to his lips, bushy eyebrows raised. “Must we take care of this now?” he asked eventually.

Levi could feel Councilor Zoe’s eyes boring into him. “It’s important,” he said shortly.

Erwin sighed heavily and pushed himself out of his chair as though an old, world-weary traveler. “Is this your ward, Erwin?” Councilor Zoe asked, eyes dancing behind thick-rimmed glasses. They wore a suit despite the fact that most of the Councilors wore robes, their hair piled on top of their head in a style distinctly not fashionable.

Levi jumped a little and gave a short curtsy, as though he’d just noticed their presence.

“Indeed, she is. Philosofia, this is Councilor Zoe,” Erwin said.

“A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Councilor,” he said.

“The pleasure is mine,” Hanji said, but they didn’t smile.

“Let’s get you a new dress, Philosofia,” Erwin said, and quickly made his goodbyes.

The servants trailed behind them, remembering how the Lady hated to look upon them. Levi opened his mouth to speak, but Erwin interjected, “They doesn’t seem to like you.”

“I refused to dance with their son at the last ball,” he muttered. “Erwin—”

“I wouldn’t degrade you by marrying you to their son, anyways. They’re an ape and the son twice over. The whole family refrain from bathing as much as possible because Zoe thinks the body’s natural scent is better than a perfume. When they’re not hijacking the Empress’s councils, they’re holed up in her alchemy lab, claiming they’ve found the cure to facelessness and turning the masses into a frenzy with false promises. Councilors like them drain our society.”

“Mikasa Ackerman is here,” Levi said.

Erwin gave him a sideways glance. “Yes, I know.”

Levi fumed. “You know?” The sun sunk into his heavy wig, sweat gathering on his forehead. He struggled to keep up with Erwin’s long strides in his pinching heels.

“Yes. You should expect a call from her within the week.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me?” Levi wanted to hit him. “What am I supposed to say when she asks why she has a female cousin she’s never heard of before?”

“Let me do the talking. Your skills lie far away from that, remember.”

“Sure, but what’s our plan?” Levi seethed, his voice slipping away from ladylike and towards a growl.

Erwin lifted a single eyebrow at him, and Levi longed to rip it off his face. “You are your mother’s bastard, kept hidden for several years because of the shame. When your mother and your half-brother Levi died of facelessness three years ago, I took you in as my ward and think of you practically as my own.”

Never mind that Erwin had five children to prevent Levi from seeing a penny of his inheritance.

“When has that been the story?”

“It always has been,” Erwin said calmly. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to upset you.”

Levi turned abruptly and left him, speechless. He’d harbored hopes the last three years that someday he could shed all of Philosofia’s masks and live as himself again, far away from the Mitras Palace, but apparently Erwin had killed him. If he ever wanted to live as a man again, he’d have to take a different name.

He stomped through the gardens in a blind rage, passing by clumps of whispering courtiers; but if he didn’t recognize them instantly, he didn’t bother to listen. Everyone knew the big players in court politics. Councilor Smith. Councilor Zoe. Councilor Jaeger. Princess Mikasa. Grand Consort Ymir. They thought of people like him as bugs to display in jars or smash underneath their heels, disposable, no better than the worms crawling through his mother’s corpse. He let himself wallow in unsavory thoughts, anger spreading like a poison in his chest.

He stomped through the rose garden, said to be the favorite of the Empress, though no one could verify that fact. He saw a canopy with the tiger seal of the Jaegers and heard Eren Jaeger’s sharp squabbling within.

“—dunces, of the worst kind. Can’t you listen to the simplest of instructions? I asked you, three times, to deliver the wines from the cellar to here, and yet, it doesn’t seem like you’re capable, for a single second, of listening to your master’s orders if it means the cessation of cramming your fingers up your asshole—”

He wondered if Mikasa knew Councilor Jaeger had considered betrothing his son to her, a move designed to condemn his son to the south, far away from the possibility of embarrassing him at court. Someone had spread a rumor last year that Eren didn’t know how to read and Councilor Jaeger had spent months red-faced combating it, sending Eren to the library multiple times a day so everyone in the whole damn Palace could see him yawning over Virgil. The Princess wouldn’t marry someone with Eren’s reputation, no matter how much money the Councilor could throw behind the match. A pipe-dream, like all of Levi’s thoughts to leave this goddess-forsaken Palace one day.

He walked so far he fell into the disused parts of the gardens, reduced to thoroughfare for servants. The hedges rose to heights almost ominous, flowers spilling onto the dirt paths, mixed with dense clumps of weeds vibrant green from the good rains this spring. They snagged on his dress, tearing tiny rips, but Levi didn’t care. He wondered if he could adjust his wig, or if even this place had eyes.

He heard something. Muttering, followed by cracks like twigs snapping. Levi emerged into a small clearing, curiosity propelling him to be careless. Amidst the overgrown weeds and choked flowers, he saw a teenage boy with clumps of twigs and wildflowers and stones around him, murmuring to himself, mashing ingredients to a paste in a mortar and pestle, some of the stones laid before him. The designs drawn on them glowed, a strange purple mist shifting and shimmering in the air. Magic, Levi realized. The boy hunched over, oblivious to his presence, the sun catching on his head of golden hair. As he watched, one of the wildflowers dropped and faded, turning into ash.

“What the hell are you doing?” Levi said sharply.

The boy jumped violently and twisted around, dropping the mortar and pestle, his blue eyes wide. The magic and mist disappeared from the air. Levi recognized him as a servant he saw sometimes issuing from Hanji Zoe’s laboratory, dumping waste out the window with a frightened face.

“I’m trying to make a potion,” he stammered. Mostly likely using equipment stolen from Hanji. Levi recalled his name. Armin Arlert.

“You’re a fool to do this here where anyone might see you,” Levi said. “Shove off somewhere else before the guards hang you for witchcraft.”

Armin lurched to his feet, seeming not to notice the grass stains on his trousers. “I, uh—I actually hoped to talk to you,” he said, wetting his lips. “You’re Lady Philosofia, aren’t you?”

“What’s it to you?”

Armin held up a palm. “And Levi Ackerman, right?”

His blood went cold.

“I thought so,” he said. “Don’t worry. I haven’t told anyone else and no one knows save for Councilor Smith, correct? I want to be your ally.”

“What for?” Levi said tartly.

“I need someone like you on my side,” Armin confessed. “I’m good with some of that court intrigue stuff, but I need a trained spy like you.”

“I don’t need any allies,” Levi said. “You should walk away.”

“Wait!” Armin cried. He gathered the wildflower ashes in his hands, shoving them under Levi’s nose. Levi angrily knocked his hands away, pushing him back a step.

“Don’t you know what this is?”

Levi examined the ashes, belatedly noting the green flecks within. He glared at Armin, spitting on the ground. “Get that cursed shit away from me!”

“I’ve been working on a poison to imitate facelessness,” Armin said excitedly, “for months. I believe I almost have it exactly. They say humans manufactured facelessness to begin with.”

“Why would you create such a foul thing? What do you need me for?”

“You hate the Empress like I do, don’t you?” Armin said, his voice much too loud. Levi’s head pounded, sweating behind the thick folds of his dress, and something in him seized at Armin’s words. “I’m no spy, but I’ve been watching you.”

“You’re wrong,” Levi said. “I don’t—”

“Together, with this,” Armin said, “you and I are going to kill the Empress of Many Masks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have already written the fic and finalized the plot, so I'm just going through edits for syntax and continuity at this point. Updates should be fairly quick.
> 
> If you liked it, consider leaving kudos or a comment!
> 
> Also, come hang out with me at my [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who left kudos and comments! They really do keep me going.
> 
> For this chapter, a trigger warning for eating-disordered behavior applies.

Levi had been born to the north, away from the dizzying court of Mitras. His parents preferred their isolated manor home—built miles away from the nearest city and on the edges of the ocean—to the ancestral lands of the Ackerman family, those which Mikasa currently ruled. He’d never asked why his family separated from the main branch and they never told him.

He’d loved the salty air, the freedom of seeing the ocean outside his window. He’d spent more time outside than in, not even minding the sand that pooled in his shoes if he could catch a glimpse of a dolphin on the horizon or find a unique shell. His mother loved to pick him up in her arms and carry him along the coast, even if he squirmed like a cat. For him, the best days were the ones he and his mother and father spent together looking over the ocean, content in each other’s company.

When he was born, several of them lived in the manor; grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. But by the time Levi was a teenager, it was just his parents and himself, the others either gone to seek lives elsewhere or deceased. He didn’t mind. People constantly flooded the manor to speak with his mother and father; travelers from the sea, courtiers, other countryside nobles, commoners, farmers. His parents saw them all. They didn’t let him sit in on these meetings, but he’d hide behind the thick curtains in the smoking room, or peek through chinks in the floor of the attic above, pressing his ear to the wood. His first spy work.

As a child, he didn’t understand what his parents spoke of to their guests. Something about the sugar trade, or the rumblings of rebellions in other countries, or how the Empress had banned everyone else at court from wearing pink this season. Things best set aside for adults to ponder over. Instead, he focused on the image of his parents he could glean through the attic floor. His mother’s dark curls, perfectly arranged, the emerald ring that had been given to her at birth on her finger. His father’s barking laugh, the thick beard he kept, even in summer. His mother’s singsong voice, the perfect complement to his father’s, her hands neatly folded in the lap of her tasteful, crimson gown. His father’s cigars, burning Levi’s nose even through the attic floor, though all the adults rejoiced when he offered them one. He missed them.

When his father died, the visits slowed and then ceased altogether. His mother threw herself into a frenzy of grief, screaming at the servants, slamming doors and racing out to the ocean to let out shrieking sobs. Her embraces squeezed him hard enough to bruise. When a few weeks had passed and her grief had calmed some, she said to him, “Levi, this is just the first of many difficulties. You must always try to endure.”

Now, he realized that his parents probably had been spies serving against the main branch of the Ackerman family and had been banished north for it. He wondered if Mikasa knew.

The servants left, unable to put up his mother’s erratic behavior. She swore they didn’t need anyone else, that they could stoke the fires and make the bread and tend to the garden by themselves. More often than not, he and mother ate their dinners with their feet in the water, silent, listening to the gulls.

One morning, when his mother woke him up for the day, he noticed flaky bits of greyish, dead skin falling from her face and the back of her hands. She assured him it was nothing. The next morning she was dead, stretched out on her bed. Her eyes, her small nose, and thin lips were gone, replaced by grey ash that dusted her bedspread. He kissed her withered hands and hid in the closet, sobbing to himself.

He heard the creditors when they came, gasping in horror upon finding the decaying body. “Facelessness,” they called, and the whole house must be burned so it wouldn’t spread. Levi slipped out the back door and sat on the edge of the ocean, watching his childhood home crumble to the ground.

A man found him like that, one with a scraggly beard, smelling of cigars, but without the comforting scent of home his father’s carried. The man squatted beside Levi, folding his long limbs underneath him, his rank breath floating onto Levi’s face.

“What are you doing out here, kid?”

“Don’t have anywhere to go,” he muttered.

“That ruin over there your house?”

“It was.”

“What have you been living on? Rocks and sand?”

Levi didn’t answer, sticking his bare toes further into the sand.

“A kid like you with no other prospects should join the military. They have beds and food, and there aren’t any wars right now.” The man scrutinized Levi’s skinny form, his slight shoulders and knobby knees. “They’d straighten you into a man.”

Levi knew the military was the option for poor farming children hoping to someday become nobles through honorable service to the Empress. But when the man left him and cold, biting night descended over the ocean, Levi knew he didn’t have a choice.

\- - - - -

He trained in the military for three years before Erwin found him. He cut his hair short, performed at least two hundred pushups every day, restricted himself to a diet of meat and vegetables, but never actually saw combat. He went through countless drills and marches, silent and steady, the perfect soldier. His teachers told him there was no finer shot with a musket, that his hands never wavered. They told him he was born for this type of life, that in another universe, beset by war, he’d have martyred himself by now.

However, one afternoon after three years of training, he was summoned to his superior’s office without the opportunity to change out of his stinking and dirty uniform. Guards had been posted outside the office, guards not normally there. A blond man stood within, smiling congenially, his hair slicked impeccably back, his charcoal robes finer than anything Levi had ever owned.

“Ackerman, this is Councilor Erwin Smith,” his superior said. “The representative of our district to the Empress and overseer of our army.”

Levi bowed stiffly, disliking the clearly calculated smile and soft way in which the Councilor asked the other to leave them. Levi’s superior officer left without even questioning him, let them talk in her own office.

“What do you want from me?” Levi asked, suspicion grated into his tone.

“Take a seat, Levi,” Erwin said, but he did not, folding his arms, glaring.

Erwin sighed. “There’s no need to be so hostile. I’ve come to inform you that you are a ward of the state, since both your parents have passed away and you are not of age. My state.”

“What does that matter?” Levi asked. “I’m in the military now.”

“You can better serve your country out of it, Levi,” Erwin said. “There is another calling for you. One that requires your presence in the capital, in your capacity as my ward.”

Levi’s glare deepened. “Why should I leave this behind?”

Erwin glanced towards the window. Levi saw the guards stationed there and remembered the ones outside, and he realized he hadn’t been offered. He’d been ordered.  
“One with skills like yours shouldn’t die in the military,” Erwin said. “With me, you will be comfortable and cared for.”

“I don’t need that.” He edged towards the door, even knowing that it was futile.

Erwin lifted one eyebrow. “Are you certain?” he said dryly. “How long can the military afford to train and feed soldiers during peacetime? Don’t you think those at the bottom will be the first to go?”

Levi’s lips thinned. He looked at the guards staring through the window. He thought about the grey ashes of his mother’s corpse. He thought about his own corpse splintering away like that.

\- - - - -

In the carriage, he asked Erwin if he knew what facelessness was. Erwin looked at him with surprise and told him it was an epidemic affecting more than it should every couple years or so, considered to be highly contagious, but only found within their nation. Levi asked how such a thing could exist.

“Well,” Erwin began, the breeze coming through the carriage fluttering with their conversation. “That’s a matter of debate. There are some people who speculate it is merely a natural disease like a fever with worse consequences, some who believe it came from the goddesses as punishment, and some who think it manmade.”

“Manmade?”

“Yes. From alchemy, created in her Imperial Majesty’s gardens. Meant to keep her subjects in line or some such. It’s all false, mind. No matter what anyone else says about our Empress, no ruler would be mad enough to poison their own people.”

Levi rested his cheek against his fist, meeting Erwin’s sharp gaze with steely eyes of his own. _You don’t know everything_ , he thought.

He forgot to be surly when they entered the grounds of a clearly wealthy noble. Oak trees in orderly lines framed the well-paved roads, their leaves green and glistening. The manor itself stole his breath away, made of white stone with stately Grecian columns and balconies, long lines of glittering windows, colorful flowers ringing the front edges of the courtyard. Even the front door had incredible detail to it, bearing a depiction of an angel standing over a field of worshippers; most likely the family seal.

“Is this your house?” Levi asked, nose to the window.

“No. This is my sister-in-law’s house. My wife’s childhood home.”

“Just your sister-in-law lives here?”

“And her daughter. She inherited it from her parents. You’ll be staying here for at least several months.”

Levi twisted around to look at Erwin, tearing his gaze away from the beautiful manor. “Why?” he demanded.

“So she can train you.”

“You’re just going to dump me here?”

A smile tugged at Erwin’s lips. “I’ll stop by occasionally to check up on you. Trust me, Levi, Lady Nicole is better equipped to train you than I am.”

Lady Nicole waited for them in the vaulted main entryway, dressed in a dark blue gown made for a woman younger than her. She was middle-aged, with brown hair streaked with gray and stern, worn lines around her mouth and eyes. She fixed Levi with a wholly unimpressed gaze, eyes sweeping over his appearance. Levi didn’t like her.

Her daughter he liked better. She smiled at him when they locked eyes. She had deep red hair and delicate, petite limbs, the opposite of her mother. She must take after her father. Erwin introduced him to Lady Nicole and her daughter Isabel.

“I know you said he’d been a soldier, but this is much worse than I expected,” Lady Nicole exclaimed. “How am I supposed to thin those broad shoulders, trim that waist?”

“You’ll find a way,” Erwin said patiently, while a shiver of horror ran down Levi’s spine.

“Listen to me, boy,” Nicole said to him sharply. “You are to address me as Lady Magnolia at all times. You are to listen to my every order, or I will send you back to the hole you came from.”

“Do you hear the Lady, boy?” Erwin asked. “It’s in your best interest to listen to her.”

Levi glowered at both.

“Such a glare on your boyish face will age you too fast,” Nicole reprimanded him. “Look at him, Erwin! I’m glad you brought him to me. If I don’t cull the beast in him now, it’ll take root and turn him into a monster later. No noble in the Empress’s court has ever been beastly.”

“That’s not true,” Isabel whispered to him when her mother and Erwin set into a conversation regarding Levi’s possessions, current skills, and placement. “Nobles are just masquerading beasts.”

She reached out for his hand and squeezed it. “Don’t take what my mother says to heart. She exists in her own universe and doesn’t believe that there might be other ones. Just pretend you live in hers for a while, and you’ll be fine. You and I will be friends, won’t we?”

“I’d like that,” Levi said.

Isabel smiled. “I’ve never had a friend my own age,” she divulged shyly.

He squeezed her hand, feeling the sharp and twig-like bones shift underneath his grip. “Neither have I.”

“Levi!” Nicole barked. “A servant will show you to your room. Isabel, you stay right here with me.”

His room was about the same size as his one at home, but this one cold and impersonal. A few rugs covered the hardwood floor and the sheets on the bed were steel gray. He opened the closet and found mothballs and spider webs within.

“Has anyone ever cleaned this room?” Levi asked the servant sharply, who quaked as though he were the master.

“Yes, sir. Every Friday.”

Levi skimmed his finger along the nightstand and stared at the dust gathered on it. “Unacceptable,” he muttered.

A few hours later had every surface in his room gleaming, and he wondered if he could shine the floors in the hallway without anyone noticing.

A figure appeared in the doorway while he opened the window to let in fresh air. “Did you clean the entire room?” Isabel asked incredulously.

“Yes.”

“You’re not a servant, you know,” she said, leaving him wondering what she knew about him.

“I’m aware.”

Isabel hesitated for a moment, her shoulders hunched up in nervousness, before blurting out, “Do you even know why you’re here?”

“Not really.” All Erwin said was that he’d serve his country.

Isabel’s eyebrows knit together. “I hear a lot of things I’m not supposed to,” she said slowly. “My mother and the Councilor want to make you into something they can  
use.”

He blinked at her. “Why else would I come here?”

They heard servants coming down the hall and looked at each other startled, both instinctually realizing that they shouldn’t be caught talking alone. “Let me show you something,” Isabel whispered, moving to the window. He looked out at a tiny ledge, just large enough for Isabel’s feet, that carried around the entire outside wall of the building. “Just be careful if you do this in daytime, because the gardeners might see you.” So saying, she climbed out of the window and positioned herself carefully on the ledge. “My rooms are three to the right. See you later.”

He turned away just as a servant appeared, saying the mistress wanted to speak to him. Nicole was in her study, deep in the library. Levi’s family home had its own library, larger and grander than this one, and he wasn’t really impressed with her shabby collection of bookshelves.

Nicole put him through a catechism, hands folded primly in her lap. Erwin wasn’t present, and Levi almost wished he was, to have another recipient of that dead stare.

Could he read and write, and did he know any foreign languages?

Of course he knew to read and write, and his mother had been teaching him French before she died.

Had he ever been to any cities, or any place of importance beside the backwater country he came from?

Last year, the regiment had taken him to a sea port. No, he’d never been anywhere important.

Did he know anything about the proper rules of interaction between courtiers?

He shook his head. Nicole’s lips thinned to a dangerous degree and she said, “I see you have learned nearly nothing useful your whole life. I shall have to tell my brother-in-law you will stay here longer than we both intended.”

At dinner, which Erwin was present for, Nicole laid out all his failings for everyone in the manor to hear. Levi stayed silent, chewing on the stringy pot roast. What did he care if this boar thought him useless and unrefined? Isabel nudged his foot under the table, giving him an encouraging smile. Levi continued to stay silent while Nicole loudly discussed the costs of raising him under her roof, both monetary and to her emotional health, and only directly accosted him when he reached for seconds of dessert.

“What are you doing, boy?” she boomed.

He glanced around himself, bewildered.

“Do you see the portions on Isabel’s plate?” she asked. “Why don’t you copy them exactly?”

“Why should I?” Levi asked, more as a result of his bewilderment than a proper retort.

“He’s only sixteen, Nicole,” Erwin said. “He’s still growing.”

“You brought him here for a specific purpose, didn’t you?” she said, and a knot of anxiety tightened in his chest.

Afterwards, when his dinner had been sufficiently digested—Nicole said—she brought him back into the study with a female servant and measuring tape. Isabel was there, too, cringing through all of it. Nicole wrote down the size of his waist and shoulders, wrists and thighs, next to another set of neatly taken measurements. “Do you see this?” Nicole growled, shoving the set marked ‘Isabel’ underneath his nose. “This is what you will strive for.”

“I can’t change the size of my _bones_ ,” he protested.

“Of course not, idiot boy. But we will whittle you down as much as we can.”

“What are you going to do to me? Starve me to death?” He shifted away from the servant attempting to wrap the measuring tape around his calf. “What the hell is all of this for?”

“Language, boy. Let me tell you this, since you’re apparently too stupid to realize yourself. Erwin is going to take you to the court of Mitras. An unmarried young man without fortune or reputation is a threat. An unmarried young woman is an opportunity.”

He felt that first twinge of shock, potent and jarring, but over the weeks it settled into dull resignation.

That night, Isabel showed him some of her dresses. “Being a girl isn’t that bad,” she said. “Yes, Mother would yell if I wore pants, but there’s nice things about being a girl, too. I like being one.”

Levi folded his arms, sitting on her bed.

“Well, it’s not like wearing a dress automatically makes you a girl,” Isabel amended in the face of his silence.

“I never thought I was a girl,” Levi said, “but I guess I never had to wonder.”

He’d think about this conversation, years later, two children trying to reason through concepts they didn’t understand.

In the mornings and afternoons it was lessons and starvation. Erwin left shortly, claiming he’d return when Lady Nicole said he was ready. Levi woke early for a Spartan breakfast, and with Isabel’s company sat through a tedium on geography and mathematics, wars and economics, everything Nicole thought a budding noble should know. Levi had learned most of it from his parents already and either dozed off, daydreamed of his time in the military, or harangued his tired professor with Isabel. In the afternoon, he studied how to act as a Lady. Posture and poise, the tone of his voice, the way he walked, the way he gripped his silverware. It wore him to bits, all those lessons, all that time spent indoors with the great oak trees taunting him outside.

At nighttime, Isabel snuck to his room or he snuck to hers, and they stayed up late traversing the silent manor. She showed him the weak parts of the floor that might give away someone’s steps, the thinnest sections of the walls that made listening in easy. They stole into her mother’s study and practiced breaking the seals on her letters and reforming them so that no one ever knew the letter had been read. How to tell if a drawer had a false bottom or how to find a loose floorboard. The times the servants woke, when the guards patrolled the hallways. Isabel said he’d learn more useful things from this than anything her mother tried to teach him. “She wants you to learn how to mix with the politics at court,” Isabel whispered one night as they crept along the roof of the manor, the stars watching them. “But you have to learn how to survive first.”

At the end of every week, Nicole measured him again. When she didn’t like what she saw—and she never did—to punish him she locked him into her deceased husband’s bedchamber with no food for the rest of the day. She did this whenever she saw him reach for more food at dinner, too. He didn’t exactly mind the punishment. She thought the ghosts and shrouded death-chamber would scare him into submission, but if any ghosts existed there, they didn’t bother him. He spent his punishment in a half-doze, mind blissfully blank, reveling in the opportunity to do absolutely nothing. Sometimes, if she could get away, Isabel would break him out through the window, and they’d flee to the oak trees to nap in the shade and have a picnic of stolen muffins and apples, red candies and ladyfingers.

It didn’t stop his weight loss. He grew skinnier and skinnier, and his muscles atrophied, everything he’d done in the military shrinking away. The more emaciated he looked, the happier Nicole was. “Women,” she said, “in the Empress’s court should not be plump or shapely. Women are designed to be fragile imitations of the goddesses.” Levi listened to this with resentment, eyeing her flabby arms and drooping chin.

When she deemed him worthy, she told him to try on Isabel’s dresses.

He swore his bones crunched underneath the stays and whalebone corset. The layers required just to get into the dress had him sweating. He couldn’t imagine what wearing this thing felt like in the summer. “Mamma,” Isabel ventured as Levi struggled to breathe, “maybe Levi won’t ever be able to fit into my dresses because his bones are shaped differently than mine.”

“Don’t be stupid, Isabel.”

Relief came from these fittings in the form of a package from Erwin, six months into his stay. The package contained an entire set of daytime dresses, colored in the pastels the Empress preferred, followed by darker dresses meant for balls and soirees, and three soft nightgowns. Nicole preened over the fine material, the high quality, until she saw the wig and realized it was all meant for Levi. He tried one of the daytime dresses on with just Isabel.

Erwin must have stolen a copy of his measurements, because the dress fit perfectly. He didn’t have to wear a stupid corset and nothing pinched or prodded. The silks felt soft against his bare skin. Several of the dresses had sashes or tucked in at the waist to give him the illusion of hips. He tried on the wig, dark as his own hair with thick curls. “This must be made from real human hair,” Isabel marveled, running her hands through it.

When he had the whole ensemble on, Isabel didn’t yet let him look in the mirror. She helped him put on a pair of the dainty, two-inch heels that had been sent with it. Nicole said he looked like a trotting horse when he walked in heels, but Isabel said he looked better with them. “Wait!” she cried when Levi turned to look in the mirror. She approached with a set of paints and swept some over his eyelids, put a dab of blush on his cheeks. “There,” she said proudly. “You look lovely. Like a real court lady.”

He didn’t recognize himself. The person in the mirror—the woman—looked nervous and a little scared. “You look lovely,” Isabel repeated. He lifted a hand to brush some hair out of his eyes, something he’d never had to do before.

“Yes,” he said. “I do.”

“Well?” she prompted. “Don’t you like it?”

He didn’t have an answer for her then, and he supposed he still didn’t.

Nicole named him. Something offhand that she came up with out of the blue. Philosofia. She meant it as a joke, but it became his whole identity.

\- - - - -

He told all of this to Armin, hushed whispers in places they thought safe. In the unused parts of the garden or hidden nooks in the library. In return, Armin told him about himself.

“I was a servant at Lady Magnolia’s estate,” he confessed. “I saw you arrive. That’s why I recognized you. I left a few weeks after, because Lady Magnolia thought I was stealing from her.”

Considering the collection he’d amassed from the Empress’s alchemy stores, he probably was.

“Why do you hate the Empress?”

“Because of facelessness,” Armin replied. He sighed and pushed a hand through his golden hair. “The Empress created it herself, you know. It was an alchemy experiment gone wrong, but instead of trying to contain it, she set it on her people. No one has ever bothered to find a cure, because it doesn’t affect the nobility in the Palace. Haven’t you ever noticed that? No one in the Palace ever contracts facelessness. Everything Councilor Zoe is doing to find a cure, it’s all a sham. All the courtiers care about is the appearance of doing good. My entire village was wiped out. My whole family. If I hadn’t been working at Lady Magnolia’s estate, I’d probably be dead, too.”

Levi didn’t say anything.

“Your mother died from facelessness, didn’t she?”

“Is that why you chose me?” Levi asked. “Because you think I have a vendetta against the Empress?”

“I think you have a vendetta against the structure that keeps the Empress in power and the nobles who pretend to worship her,” Armin said. “I think you’re well aware of what it’s done to you and your family. Do you know why Princess Mikasa is here?”

Levi thinned his lips.

“Because there’s a plague of facelessness in the Isles she comes from right now. The Empress brought her here to keep her safe.”

Armin stayed silent for a moment, letting Levi digest that.

“But I didn’t just choose you because of that,” he said. “No one suspects you. No one thinks of you. People hardly know who you are. You’re the ultimate spy. But I’m not ordering you to help me. You’re my superior in rank, anyways. You can turn me over to the Empress if you want. But if you offer your help, I’ll take it.”

Levi placed his palms on the grass, looking up at the sun made milky from the clouds. He thought about his mother and the home that didn’t exist anymore.

“I’ll help you,” he said.

 _Everyone at court wants more than they profess to_ , Levi wrote to Isabel that evening. _There are courtiers who say all they wish for is the Empress’s favor, all the while vying for her power. And there are those underneath, who resent their positions of servitude. It is a dangerous undertaking to try for that which you think you deserve. I don’t know what will happen when these two factions meet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Also, please let me know if you are confused about anything or if you think something needs a trigger warning.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a loooong chapter, but Eren finally makes his appearance!

Armin had an entire plan thoroughly thought out before he even met Levi.

“Do you know why so many assassination attempts on the Empress have failed?” he asked Levi in the secluded sections of the garden, sometime around two in the morning. “Because they all try with muskets and daggers. The Empress has the best security force in Europe. No one is getting through it. What we need to bring her down is subtlety.”

“Something involving alchemy?” Levi guessed.

Armin nodded. “First, obviously, I need to perfect the poison. A more fitting end for her than the end of an assassin’s dagger, like some regular noble. We’ll kill her like she kills all her people; get her under our thrall and then administer the facelessness. Every month, she holds dinners with her most trusted advisors. It’s the only time anyone besides the Grand Consort even sees her. That’s when we’ll give her the poison.”

Levi huffed. “You think the Empress is just going to let anyone into that party?”

“No, of course not. We need an invitation. And to do that, we need to get into the Empress’s good graces. That’s why I wanted your help. I’m just a servant, a nobody. You’re a noble of the court.”

Levi snorted. “As low-ranking as they get.”

“Yes, it is true that you’re low-ranking because you’re only Councilor Smith’s ward. But you’re an incredibly skilled spy and manipulator. There’s no one else with your skills, Levi. I also wanted to use Lady Philosofia’s reputation and her, uh, activities. To get into the Empress’s good graces, we need a noble, someone higher ranking than you so the Empress is aware of them, but down on their luck, looking for something more. Someone with a reason to cozy up to the Empress and offer their services. You could use that person to get into the party. She’ll never realize what we’re trying to do. I thought there’s no one better to search for someone like that than you.”

Levi didn’t dispute it. He could think of half a dozen courtiers who would fit that description in a moment, but which would assist them in murdering the Empress, knowingly or not? “I need to think on it,” Levi said.

“Of course. Take your time. The poison isn’t even close to perfect yet.”

Levi bid his goodbye then, climbing out of the bush and onto the dirt path. Their meeting, taken place in whispers and under five minutes, had already gone on too long. He’d dressed in men’s clothing, so no one would see Philosofia cavorting around at night. He took an alternate route to his room, avoiding main corridors and hugging the walls. He slipped in through the window, and before doing anything else, checked everywhere, in the closet, under the bed, for another person. There was no one. Levi went to close the window, his mind fogged up and tired from the day’s events. Erwin meant to run him into the ground, convinced Councilor Zoe was trying to upend him. A shout brought Levi back to full awareness.

It was just Eren Jaeger. Levi sighed and closed the window, retreating into the servant’s closet he used as his bed. Huddling atop the thin, straw mattress, Erwin’s snores breaking up his thoughts, Armin’s words floated in fragments throughout his mind. How would they ever pull this off, he wondered, for the thousandth time.

He couldn’t fall asleep. He felt too tightly wound, something weighty balling up in his chest, anxiety building in his throat. He climbed out of bed and searched for something to clean in the main chamber, but he’d already cleaned everything to spotlessness the night before. And the night before. And the night before.

He opened the window again for some fresh air. A loud moan in the distance sent a wave of embarrassment through him.

Armin wanted a prominent noble, but someone currently out of favor.

Another moan. He considered closing the window and going back to bed.

Eren Jaeger was the son of one of the most influential Councilors and had been the black sheep of the family since birth, denying every opportunity his father placed before him. Now he was almost thirty. He must be getting desperate.

He climbed out the window before he even really thought about it.

He stole across the courtyard, grateful for the clouds covering the moon. Eren’s rooms were the only ones still with candles lit, and Levi crept up to the window. His heart pounded in his chest. His throat went dry. He couldn’t look away, completely entranced.

Eren’s back muscles and buttocks clenched as he thrust into the woman beneath him, skin gleaming golden in the dim candlelight. Levi’s eyes followed the trail of sweat dripping down his spine. The maid screamed and cried out in pleasure, a performance Levi clearly recognized as fake. If he were her instead—

Eren’s grunts carried through the window, open a crack, sending shocks through Levi’s veins. His brown hair hung over his eyes, the muscles in his arm tensing as he held himself up, his feet digging into the mattress. He dropped to his elbows and started thrusting faster, his moans increasing. Levi’s groin burned. He wanted to touch himself so badly but didn’t dare.

Eren finished with a grunt and the woman faked her own. Levi eagerly drank in the sight of Eren’s bare, sweaty chest as he pulled away. The woman said something he didn’t catch. He recognized her as Princess Mikasa’s handmaiden, and wondered how this had happened. Eren smiled at her and pulled her into his lap, kissing her temple. She slapped at his wandering hands, giggling. Levi felt like he would go insane. One of his hands slid towards his inner thigh. Eren said a few more words to the woman, and she collected her clothes and left. Eren stood, stretching his arms over his head. Levi followed the dark thatch of hair extending from his bellybutton to his groin, stared at his now flaccid penis as something deafening grew in his mind. He wanted to have Eren pressed up against him, inside him.

Eren started checking around the various objects in his room, and Levi belatedly realized he searched for spies in the same method that Levi himself did. He shrank away from the window just as Eren stuck an arm out, feeling around the sill. Eren withdrew his arm but stood at the window, his eyes sweeping over the courtyard. “ _Entrez, s’il vous plait_. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Levi held his breath until Eren sighed and retreated further into his room, closing the window and drawing the curtain. He couldn’t breathe properly until he returned to his closet.

\- - - - -

He wore a dress of pale silver, which he had been told complimented his eyes exactly, with a diamond necklace he’d been gifted from one of his lovers for his birthday. It was just a tiny stone, nothing compared to the jewels Princess Mikasa owned, but he loved wearing it anyways. He put the wig into an up-do today, let some of the curls frame his face, giving the illusion of a less rounded face. He constantly tried to make his cheekbones show more.

He took a moment to admire himself in the mirror, rather pleased with his work today, before leaving his bedchamber. He had an appointment for tea with Councilor Zoe’s daughter, but the girl wouldn’t cry if he was a few minutes late.

Instead, he went to the stables. Some of the boys mucked out the stalls, making crass jokes, but he walked right up to him. They straightened up, stammering at the sight of a proper lady. Levi refused to meet Armin’s eyes and said, “I need a horse stabled for this afternoon. I’m going to take a ride and I won’t abide any splatters on my dress.”

They had both agreed they shouldn’t meet in public, but Levi couldn’t wait. When the boys said, “Yes, miss, right away, miss,” Levi stood by to supervise their choice of horse. Armin passed by, a little too close for propriety, but close enough for Levi to mutter, “Eren Jaeger.”

He pointed to a black mare. “Tell me, what do you think of this one?”

Armin’s face split in a wide smile. “A very good choice, miss. Nearly perfect, I’d say.”

Levi nodded curtly. “I’ll return this afternoon.”

Lola Zoe contented herself with a horse ride instead of tea. Just as chatty as her parent, she needed hardly any prompting to tell Levi all about the Councilor’s experiments. She wouldn’t last a day as a spy. Levi liked her. When he asked who she had been dining with lately, Lola replied she hadn’t seen much of anyone besides himself, but that Zoe had been to all sorts of dinners lately, first with the Bookers, then with the dowager Countess Darvin. Erwin would eat it up.

“They’re cozying up to the Bookers?” he fumed when Levi informed him. “That stupid witch doesn’t know what they’re getting into. The Bookers only want to marry their daughter into the Zoe family.”

“So what’s our plan?” Levi asked, as if he cared at all.

“Keep talking to Lola. I’ll invite the Bookers to tea.”

“There’s something else I wanted to ask,” Levi said. Erwin lifted an eyebrow.

“Philosofia’s tired of court life,” he said. “She wants to take a day or two to rejuvenate in the countryside.”

“I need you here right now,” Erwin said.

He rolled his eyes. “I won’t actually go anywhere. I can still act as your ears from the shadows. Just get me a set of servant’s clothes to wear.”

“Fine,” Erwin relented. “Don’t get caught.”

“Why would you even bother to say that to me?”

He exchanged the silver dress for nondescript gray pants and a vest bearing the seal of the Empress. He pushed his short hair back and put a bit of makeup on to make his face look harsher, less feminine.

He wandered through the halls a for bit. No one bothered him if he walked purposefully. After a time, he stopped another servant and said, “Councilor Jaeger told me to find his son. Do you know where he is?”

“Visiting Countess Viandur in her apartments,” the man replied, and Levi set off.

Countess Viandur? It would be a strange choice for Eren, who usually preferred servant classes, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the Countess had finally taken revenge on her cheating husband.

The Countess’s apartments were on the third floor, and Levi ascended to the fourth, locating the room above hers, an unused storage room. The Empress didn’t want servants walking about the thin floorboards and disturbing her courtiers. Levi used that to his advantage, laying on his belly on the boards and peering through the slats.

Eren sat in an armchair, sipping on a glass of wine, making polite conversation with the Countess. The Countess was a very pretty woman, young, with blonde hair and big blue eyes, petite and always tastefully dressed. Levi wondered when they would start fucking and if he would be able to stop himself from rutting against his fingers this time.

Eren came on business, Levi realized soon. Eren tried to convince the Countess to sell him opium for a cutting price, while the Countess staunchly refused unless Eren would stop bedding her servants and give her some of his father’s next shipment of brandy.

“Fine, fine,” Eren relented, leaning back in his chair. Levi could tell by his movements that he was inching past tipsy to drunk. “You can have my entire share. All of it. We can meet somewhere and make the exchange.”

“Don’t cheat me on a single bottle,” the Countess warned. “I’ll need it to deal with this idiot husband of mine. And I don’t ever want to see you sneaking around my bedroom again.”

Eren sunk in his seat. “You’re such a slave-driver,” he complained. “Let me keep one of them, alright?”

The Countess considered. “Just one.”

She had the monopoly on the opium distribution to the nobles of Mitras. Oddly enough. It came from her merchant background. Everyone knew except her husband.

“ _Merci, mon amie_ ,” Eren said. “Your generosity continues to astound me, Christa.”

The Countess cracked a smile. Levi heard a fumbling with the lock and someone entered the room. Both Eren and the Countess stood. Eren extended a hand with a cordial, “How do you do, Count Viandur?” but Christa screamed, “Oh, get out, you vile man!”

Count Viandur held his hands to his face as she chucked a vase at him.

“Christa!” Eren implored.

“Who was it this time!” she yelled. “Stella? Julia? Beatrice? Philosofia?”

“My love,” the Count tried to say.

“Oh, shut up, pig! I don’t love you! I married you for your money and I can’t wait until you die so I can get all of it!”

“Christa, this is unnecessary,” Eren said, after an unlit candle missed her husband and hit him instead.

“My love, I know these are words of anger and not truth,” Viandur said.

“Get out of here before I cut your dick off!”

“You’d better listen,” Eren told him, and the Count fled.

Eren leaned against the wall and laughed uproariously.

“Stop laughing!” Christa fumed.

“ _Désolé_!” he wheezed. “No disrespect. I’ll take my leave.”

Levi quickly scrambled up as Eren bowed to the Countess and left, still chuckling to himself.

He followed Eren throughout the rest of his day, making note of everything he discovered. Eren ate his evening meal by himself, looking over a newspaper. He wrote letters for an hour, his tapping foot indicating he’d rather be somewhere else. As twilight fell, he went walking around the Palace grounds, making it extremely difficult for Levi to follow him. Other than his search of rooms the previous night, Eren didn’t seem too concerned with security. He left the letters in an unlocked drawer and didn’t even bother to lock his rooms when he left. Levi abandon his tail through the gardens to return to Eren’s room. He slipped the letters from the drawer and opened them. One meant for his mother, full of syrupy language and falsehoods to keep her from worrying. Another to his bank, asking for a loan extension. A third addressed only to ‘A.L.’ and some street in Paris. _Mother and Father are pushing the idea of marriage again, coming up with new matches by the hour . . . You would think that a man should be allowed to reach thirty before he must marry . . . You shall have to find some excuse to come to the Palace and divert their attention for a while . . . It’s been so long since your banishment that the Empress won’t even remember it; not that the creature ever leaves her apartments to see what goes on in her court._ It ended ‘faithfully yours’ without a signature. Levi tucked this information into his head for later study. He could easily obtain a list of banished persons from the court and perhaps find who the initials belonged to. Who could this friend be? A lover, probably; one of many. An involuntary pang irritated Levi immensely.

He resealed the letters and left, intending to find Eren again among the gardens. Erwin would be sitting at dinner by now, wondering where Levi was. Poor Erwin.

Levi heard voices before he could catch a glimpse of Eren. He’d filched a gardener’s apron some time ago and tied it around his waist, stooping among the flowerbeds to pull out imaginary weeds, a line of hedges separated himself from Eren and his father.

“Oh, you’ve gone entirely mad now, Father,” Eren said, his voice strained. “She’d never marry me, not in a million years.”

“She would be idiotic to refuse our offer. The advantages to be gained from marrying the son of a Councilor are immense.”

“You don’t care about me at all,” Eren said, almost whining. “You want to marry me to the Ackerman fortune and don’t care if I freeze to death with that frigid maiden.”

“Eren, don’t be absurd.” Levi peeked through the hedges; Eren lounged in a chair, resolutely gazing anywhere but his father while the tired old Councilor looked like he just might have enough left in him to catapult his son to the other edge of the garden. “You’d be set for life if you married Mikasa. If anything happened to myself or your mother, you wouldn’t have to worry about your own future. That’s the best I can hope for, for my son.”

“Are you saying I should worry about money?” Eren asked.

“The Princess has a fortune that can’t be eliminated through excessive purchase of unnecessary goods,” his father replied. Eren gave a short bark of laughter.

“I can’t do it, father. You should tie me to an icicle rather than ask me to marry that one.”

“You don’t have a choice, Eren. No one is exactly eager to marry you.”

Eren winced. “ _Vous êtes sévère_! But I still have my own mind. I can still make my own decisions.”

“Not while you live on my coin,” his father said, but he seemed unwilling to pursue the argument further.

They left a few minutes later, but Levi stayed, mulling over what he’d heard. He hadn’t thought that the Councilor would actually pursue a marriage to Mikasa. If Eren married the wealthy and powerful heir of the Ackerman family, he’d rise through the ranks in a moment. He certainly wouldn’t need the Empress’s favor to become somebody worthwhile at court. And the Piholan Isles, far to the south, might as well be their own country. Levi yanked up a weed more viciously than necessary.

Eren wasn’t inclined to marry Mikasa. Levi needed to make sure it stayed that way.

Lost in his own thoughts, he made his way through the gardens, starting to shiver as the sun fell. He turned and smacked into another body

“Hey!” the person said. “Are you all right?”

It was Eren himself. Levi tried to keep his face blank and mumbled an apology, bowing and keeping his gaze on Eren’s leather boots.

“Have I seen you before?” Eren asked curiously. “Lift your face.”

Levi barely obliged. Philosofia and Eren had dined in the same room before, but only at balls. “I don’t think so, my lord.”

“What’s the matter?” Eren asked. “I won’t punish you for bumping into me.”

“I must get back to my work,” Levi said, keeping his voice polite and even.

Eren stepped aside and Levi practically flew away, cursing himself. How could he not have noticed another’s footsteps? Especially Eren’s?

Even though he knew it was stupid, he risked a glance behind himself, at Eren. Eren met his eyes and offered a wide smile. Levi looked away.

\- - - - -

Armin specifically told he didn’t want to push Levi into anything he wasn’t comfortable with. But he had an opportunity here; his biggest obstacle lay in attaching Eren’s affections above all his other lovers.

Levi waited a full week so the memory Eren had of his face would fade before he approached him again. He ordered some tweaks to one of his favorite dresses, made of deep crimson silk. He even ordered the maids to help him with his makeup and hair that day, after applying a layer of his own to erase his more prominently masculine features. He needed to look impeccable to make Eren notice him. Their rooms were so close, and yet Eren had never visited him. Even more, he had servants eager to get pregnant with his child so they could rise themselves.

“You are a vision, my lady,” one of the maids gushed, placing a ruby necklace around his throat.

“Thank you,” he answered, distracted. He worried if the makeup would come off in the heat, if his shoulders looked too broad, his lips not full enough.

He met Lola Zoe for breakfast, just the two of them. The Councilors ran themselves ragged making policy proposals for the Empress and trying to one-up each other.  
Lola sighed. “I wish I were half as pretty as you,” she mourned.

“You’re very beautiful,” Levi said, trying not to stain his cup with lipstick.

She perked up. “You think so?”

“Of course.” He already sweated in the wig. Eating outside was a mistake. The day promised to be miserably hot.

“What’s your plans for today, Phila?” Lola asked, too engrossed in her scone to notice his discomfort. “Do you want to go with the market with me? My parent gave me an allowance to spend and I do want to spend it before they change their mind.”

“I would very much like to go,” Levi responded, without paying attention to what he said.

He watched for someone in the hedges. He wouldn’t be sweating so much if Armin weren’t atrociously late. There were only so many times he could ask Lola to stay for another cup. He’d have to forfeit everything. He’d worn the red dress for nothing.

A flash of gold caught his attention. Armin’s hair. He only saw him briefly, just a moment long enough to catch two fingers pressed against his palm. His whole body awakened and he lurched out of his chair, blood thrumming with the need for action. Lola stared up at him, startled.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I’ve forgotten Councilor Erwin wanted me to take dancing lessons for the upcoming ball this afternoon. I won’t be able to go to the market with you.”

“That’s alright, Phila,” Lola said. “We’ll go tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Levi said, his muscles jumping.

He resisted the urge to crash through the hedges and found Armin crouching by a column, liable to shit his pants. “We shouldn’t meet in daylight!” Armin hissed. “This better be worth it.”

“It will be. Where is he?”

“In the kitchen, terrorizing the cook.”

“What’s he doing there?”

“Trying to find alcohol. That doesn’t really matter. I have an idea. You’re going to be a helpless damsel.”

“I’m already halfway there,” Levi replied.

Armin grinned nervously before straightening up. “Pretend you’re going for a stroll outside by the kitchens. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Levi did as he was told, smoothing down his dress and patting his hair. He hoped he really looked as beautiful as Lola said he did. He strolled by the kitchens, cursing the hot sun. He heard something like screaming inside and assumed it was Eren fretting again. He turned in circles by the kitchens five times, growing increasingly frustrated with Armin when nothing happened.

“What’s this!” someone bellowed. “A lady in trouble? I’m coming!”

Hands seized his shoulders. For a moment, he forgot where he was and would have flipped Eren over his shoulder like he’d learned in the military, but Eren spun him around and exclaimed, rather close to his face, “Where is the scoundrel?”

“Excuse me?” Levi said.

“The man who tried to take your jewels! It makes my blood boil to see a hapless woman accosted. I’ll string him up myself, my lady! I don’t need the law.”

“He got away,” Levi said, “but he took my gold sapphire ring.”

Eren seemed to remember himself, and dropped his hands from his shoulders, stepping away. “I’m so sorry, my lady. I’ll have it replaced right away. Did you get a good look at the thief’s face?”

Levi considered. “He was blond and petite, with large blue eyes, and looked rather like a vagabond.”

“If I ever see him, I’ll make him rue meddling with you,” Eren promised. He graciously extended his arm. “Would you like me to accompany you to your room? You must have suffered quite a shock, Lady—Lady—”

He curtseyed. “I am Philosofia, my lord.”

His eyes widened. “Lady Philosofia Ackerman? It is my honor to meet you,” he stammered. “Forgive me. I’d heard rumors of your beauty, but to see you in person is another thing entirely.”

What rumors? More likely Eren knew about all the men he’d sucked off. “You’re too kind.”

“There are no compliments too kind for a noble lady such as yourself,” Eren said seriously, and Levi wished he could punch him in his handsome face.

“My lord, if it’s not too much trouble,” Levi began, after accepting Eren’s arm and trying to stop himself from groping his muscles.

“Not at all,” Eren assured him.

“I don’t dare return to Councilor Smith without the ring. It was a gift, and he’d be very angry to see me without it.”

“Don’t worry, Lady Philosofia. Would it be unacceptable to you to return to my room? I’m sure I have something that can pass as your ring until we replace it.”

If Eren knew how transparent he sounded, he didn’t show it. “Thank you, my lord,” Levi said.

“ _De rien, mademoiselle_.”

They had been walking for some time when Levi realized he couldn’t feel anything from Eren’s arm. Not a bit of heat or coolness from his skin. It made his own skin crawl. A living body shouldn’t feel that way. He pushed the feeling aside and focused on finding any excuse at all to get Eren to kiss him.

The hallway was empty. Eren had stopped and was looking at him.

“What is it?” Levi said.

“You really are very beautiful,” Eren said.

Levi decided he didn’t need an excuse. He threw his arms around Eren’s neck and kissed him. Eren let out a grunt of surprise, but one hand settled on his waist, the other in his hair. His lips were immeasurably soft, and Levi’s skin burned for more of him. He already felt like he might come. Eren backed him against the wall, kissing his jaw and neck before returning to his mouth. Eren lifted him up in his arms, and Levi hooked his legs around his waist, reveling in the feeling of Eren’s body pressed against his, his erection dangerously close to his groin. “I want—” Levi said, stupidly, hands gripping Eren’s face, kissing every part of him he could reach.

“Whatever you want,” Eren panted, rutting against him.

“It’s so good to see you again, Eren.”

Eren dropped Levi to the ground with a “ _Gods above_!” Levi’s hands hurriedly flew to his hair to make sure the wig hadn’t been disordered. Eren had lipstick all over his face. Mikasa Ackerman stood nearby, trying not to laugh.

“And my cousin, Philosofia,” Mikasa said. “I’m glad to see you’ve settled into Palace life.”

“Always a pleasure,” Eren said, murderous.

“Don’t let me interrupt such intimate conversation,” Mikasa said. “I only wished to say I look forward to dining with you this evening, Eren.”

“What?”

“Your father invited me,” she said, hands folded in the sleeves of her periwinkle dress. “He said you’re having duck. I’m sure it will be a marvelous evening.”

“Yes, of course,” Eren said.

Mikasa inclined her head. “I’ll see you then. Philosofia, take care.”

“You, too,” Levi said while wanting to die.

He couldn’t predict what kind of effect their public tryst would have. If only Eren’s future fiancée hadn’t been the one to find them. He looked at Eren and saw the same sense of doom in his eyes.

“Do you still want to go to my rooms?” Eren asked sheepishly.

He only considered for half a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize until now, but the first image you get of Eren in this fic is of his butt lol. Anyways, let me know what you thought! (Not necessarily of Eren's butt!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have mentioned this earlier; Levi's skirts are very voluminous, so if there's something hiding underneath, it'd be difficult to tell. (I feel like y'all know what I'm getting at.)
> 
> This chapter is kind of a wild ride lol. Levi goes to a party! Eren practices offending his friends!

“Go away!” Eren barked at the servants tidying up his apartments when they entered. They dropped their rags and scurried off like frightened rats. Levi turned towards the wall and hope they were all stupid enough not to recognize him. Eren slammed the door behind them and retreated into the bedroom. When Levi didn’t immediately follow him, scanning the well-furbished sitting room, Eren returned and lifted him in his arms. Levi squirmed, not liking how easily Eren could lift him. He could tell Eren did, kissing him as he set him gently on the bed.

“Wait,” Levi said dizzily. “Did you check the room?”

Eren gave him a look of great forbearance. “What, for spies? Who cares?”

“I must preserve my reputation,” Levi said.

Eren rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine.” He checked under the bed, around the windows, within the closet, and even the chinks in the walls and ceiling. Levi lay down on the bed and folded his hands over his chest, closed his eyes.

“Are you alright?” Eren asked, close to his face. Levi hadn’t even heard him walk over. Levi opened his eyes and noticed how very green Eren’s were, the tiny scars and scratches on his face, leftover from his youth.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Eren asked, caressing Levi’s face.

“No,” Levi grunted, pushing himself into a sitting position. Eren knelt between his legs and removed his heels, kissing up his stocking-covered legs.

“That’s enough,” Levi said, pushing him away before he could reach his inner thighs.

Eren leaned back on his haunches, smiling. “I’ve heard that Lady Philosofia will do anything her lover requests, except remove her clothes.” He slid his hands down Levi’s thighs, settling at his waist.

“I have to protect my virtue,” Levi said. Eren rose and kissed his lips for a while. Levi pushed his hands through his soft, thick hair. “I’ll get you off if you want, but my clothes are staying on.” His voice had already grown breathless, and they hadn’t done anything.

“What about yourself?” Eren breathed against his mouth.

“I don’t care.”

“Are you scared?” Eren kissed his eyelids. “It’s not supposed to hurt. It wouldn’t with me. You’d feel good.”

“I don’t have to explain myself,” Levi hissed, grabbing the hands wandering around his thighs and setting them on his waist.

“Of course not,” Eren said, soothingly, and it irritated Levi all the more because he knew that Eren thought being nice would mean he’d get his way.

“I’ve heard that Eren Jaeger beds anything that can walk, but can’t make even the untouched serving maids finish,” Levi said.

Eren opened his eyes very wide and then laughed. “Is that so? Don’t think I don’t know they all want something from me; the favor of being my favorite, perhaps, or the forced marriage from an illegitimate child. But I’m not reckless, and I am thorough, Philosofia. You don’t need to worry.” He kissed Levi’s mouth and then said, “Do you want to fuck or not?”

Levi’s hands trembled as he helped Eren out of his pants. He hoped to the gods that he had enough self-control to remember himself. He wanted nothing more than to strip off his clothing and let Eren do whatever he wanted to him, but he couldn’t—he couldn’t—

Eren’s moans and sighs encouraged him, and he took his cock into his mouth, listening to what Eren seemed to like the best. He burned to learn what it would feel like to have Eren inside of him, almost unable to help slipping a hand between his legs. “Oh, let me, let me,” Eren said, but Levi said sharply, “No!” and redoubled his efforts, until Eren shook and tried to prevent himself from thrusting. Eren came into his mouth. Levi pulled off, semen dripping down his chin. He stumbled into the bathroom, until he came, too. Then he washed up, adjusted his dress uncomfortably, and returned to find Eren staring forlornly at the ceiling.

“What’s the point of sex if you won’t let me help you come?” he said.

“Who says I won’t?” Levi said. “Be patient.”

Eren smiled and opened his arms. Levi laid his head on his chest, felt Eren’s arms settle around his shoulders. He tried not to squirm, despite how much he hated post-coital cuddling. “Your hair is so beautiful,” Eren said drowsily, putting his chin atop it. Levi considered telling him it was a wig.

“Will you return to me?” Eren asked, stroking his exposed shoulder. “ _Vous êtes très belle_ , Philosofia. I don’t know if I could bear staying away.”

“We will see,” he said, and restrained a laugh at the spike of panic flitting through Eren’s muscles.

“Don’t tease me,” Eren complained, but strained forward, kissing Levi’s sweaty forehead. Despite their activities, Eren wasn’t hot at all. Levi felt like he contained a thousand candles within his skin.

Levi stayed there until he fell asleep, then kissed his cheek and left. He considered leaving a note, but he didn’t need to give the servants any more fuel for gossip.

In his own apartments, Erwin took one look at him and said, “What happened to you? You look like you’ve been rolling around with the pigs.”

“Gathering information,” Levi said, retreating into his room to strip off the red dress. He almost mourned taking it off, but switching dresses would hopefully throw the gossipers off for a few moments.

He wrote to Isabel, asking her if she knew anything about Eren Jaeger, or could find out anything. The painstaking code he and Isabel used in their letters always took him at least an hour to write. He didn’t have a mind for those sorts of things. Isabel created their cyphers. It was as Erwin said. He was best for listening, not speaking.

\- - - - -

Lady Philosofia made her public return to court life, after a retreat of a week and a few days, via a dinner party with Princess Mikasa and her favorite courtiers. Levi sweat buckets before he even left his room. Mikasa’s page had sent him and Erwin an invitation on a gold-gilded letter. Erwin declined on account of already accepting an invitation to tour Councilor Zoe’s estate. (He wanted to see the infamous alchemy laboratory for himself and probably figure out how to destroy it.) Levi took Zoe’s daughter to the dinner party, choosing to wear a soft, lightweight gown of pale pink with his diamonds while Lola wore off-white with pale rubies. They would match and make all of the other women faint with jealousy, Lola said.

“I’ve never been to a party with the Princess,” she said anxiously, after asking Levi for the millionth time if her chestnut hair hadn’t fallen from its bun. “Is it she as cold as people say she is, or will she be a good host?”

“I can’t say,” Levi answered. Despite the fact that Mikasa had been in the Palace for a few weeks now, she had yet to call on Levi, an insult if he’d ever heard of one. He couldn’t think of anything he’d done to offend her (besides the tryst with her future fiancé), but didn’t really care; the further they stayed away from each other, the better. Most likely she’d only brought him to this event to insult him further. It would be just like someone from the main branch to do something like that.

“We both look beautiful,” Lola decided, having finished fretting over her hair. “Do you think we’ll meet our future husbands tonight?”

“Lola,” Levi said. “I need you perfectly focused for me tonight.”

Lola straightened up. “Of course! Anything for my best friend.”

“I need you to watch Mikasa and see whether she likes me or not.”

“I will consider it my gods-given duty, Phila.”

The dinner occurred in a wide, open area with a dining table, several armchairs, and various busts previous Empresses had commissioned. The large, floor to ceiling windows let in a breeze. Princess Mikasa waited by the door, in a gown of soft lilac, greeting her guests with a friend. Levi didn’t recognize her. She wore dark green, with her light brown hair piled haphazardly on top of her head, her brown eyes anxiously searching the faces of everyone came in. Levi couldn’t imagine Mikasa willingly associating with such a slavishly dressed person. When he and Lola reached her, Mikasa pressed his hand with a small, cutting smile.

“Philosofia, my cousin,” she said. “I’m glad you could take time out of your busy schedule to visit me.”

 _I could flip those words on you_ , Levi thought, but merely smiled. “This is Lola Zoe, Councilor Zoe’s daughter.”

Mikasa’s eyes swept over Lola, and then she stepped over to greet in the next in line. Lola gaped. Mikasa’s friend leaped to them and crushed her hands in a strong grip.

“It’s so wonderful to meet you, Lady Zoe,” she said with a warm smile. “I’m Sasha Braus.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Lola said, recovering her color. Sasha met Levi’s eyes and gave him another smile. Levi nodded. Mikasa glared.

Levi tucked Lola’s arm into his own and steered her away, taking her to a servant standing with wine. “Here,” Levi said, handing her a glass. She fell into one of the armchairs with a poof of her skirts.

“I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “Ignored by the Princess! My family will chop my head off.”

“It’s not about you,” Levi said. “She wanted to slight me, so chose to ignore my friend. Don’t let it bother you.”

Lola fanned herself. Levi looked around at all the people gathered. Mikasa had invited all of the Booker children—of course she had—but not Countess Viandur or any of the military families. This would be a shit show. He could only imagine the miffed lords and ladies stomping over the halls, planning revenge for being passed over.

“Oh, my,” Lola said. “Eren Jaeger’s here. I thought he and the Princess didn’t like each other.”

Levi jerked his head towards the entrance and saw Eren and Mikasa greeting each other, frozen smiles on their faces, gripping each other’s hands tightly. Eren shouldn’t be here. If neither wanted to marry each other, why would Mikasa invite him? He realized, with a pit in his stomach, that the pressure from Eren’s parents and Mikasa’s to marry was probably too great for either to withstand.

He had to do something to break them up. He watched as Eren actually stooped to press a kiss to Mikasa’s cheek. Disgusting.

Eren looked over and made direct eye contact with Levi. Blood suffused through Eren’s face. Levi did his best to smile comfortingly at him. He couldn’t afford to seem stiff and cold, or like he resented Eren for pursuing a marriage with Mikasa. Eren tentatively smiled back.

After all the guests had been received, they settled down to dinner. Levi didn’t know what they would have, and didn’t intend to eat any of it, anyways. He went to take his seat, but a servant gently led him away towards the end of the table. “Right here, my lady,” the servant said, an apology in his tone. Lola cast him a bewildered glance, being led to the middle of the table.

Levi could have laughed. As Mikasa’s cousin, one of her few living family members, he should have been at her right side. Instead, Sasha Braus filled that position, and the eldest Booker sat on her other side, looking positively ecstatic.

Levi took his seat, determined to bear the insult with grace. “Hello,” a voice said in his ear. Eren took the seat directly across from Mikasa, the worst seat at the table. He guessed she hadn’t forgiven them for their tryst in the hallway. It seemed like Mikasa herself would do the part of driving a wedge between her and Eren.

“I thought she was to be your fiancée,” Levi said. He couldn’t even hear anything Mikasa said from this far away.

Eren shrugged. “It’s quite alright. Considering my recent, ah, indiscretions, her reaction is understandable. I’m certain we will come to an agreement.”

“It’s a good match,” Levi said carefully. “You both will be benefitted.”

“That seems to be what they say.” Levi leaned back as a servant placed the first course in front of them. Some sort of soup. The other courtiers glanced at them, trying not to laugh.

“I wish you the best,” Levi said, clearly surprising Eren. He could almost hear his brain working, trying to figure out what sort of ulterior motives Levi had.

“Thank you,” Eren said. The sight of Sasha Braus lowering her nose into the soup, to better shovel it into her mouth, briefly distracted them.

“By the gods,” Eren said, when she finished her first bowl in under a minute and requested another. Levi witnessed a vein pulsing in Mikasa’s forehead.

“Is the engagement final?” Levi asked in an undertone.

“Nearly,” Eren said.

“She’s my cousin, you remember, so I know her very well. As your friend, I think I am obligated to say—No, perhaps I shouldn’t.”

“Do go on,” Eren said. “I require complete transparency in my marriages.”

Levi leaned over slightly and whispered, “Apparently, she called you a vile snake of a man and said that any woman unlucky enough to marry you would have her rotting uterus slide out of her vagina by the end of her wedding night.”

Eren’s face went white momentarily. “Is that so?” he said. “Well, I’ve certainly heard something to the same effect before.”

“I hope you know what you’re getting into,” Levi said. “They say that she’s so frigid, her legs are sealed up stronger than a sheet of ice.”

Eren’s lips thinned. “That’s . . . not the type of woman I prefer.”

Mikasa watched them while trying to pretend she didn’t. To anger her even more, and to confuse poor Eren, Levi placed a hand on his thigh and said, “I would hate to see you locked into an unhappy marriage.”

The second course arrived. Eren stared at his plate blankly while Sasha devoured hers and looked around for more.

“So what should I do?” Eren whispered frantically, beads of sweat on his forehead, after a silence of several courses.

“Show her you’re not worth the trouble,” Levi whispered back.

They broke before the last course, dessert. Everyone else looked so stuffed they could hardly move, but Levi’s stomach rumbled. He hoped the conversation hid it. He could sense all the urgent whispers, gossip building between the huddled groups. By the end of the night, everyone would know of Mikasa’s seating arrangement.

“I don’t believe I had the chance to meet you properly, Lady Philosofia.” Sasha Braus intercepted him when he went to go rescue Lola from a stammering young man entranced by her beauty. Sasha had a spot of sauce on the front of her gown. “I’ve heard so many good things about you.”

“You have?” Levi said dumbly. Eren slowly shifted down the hall, dodging everyone who went to talk to him.

“Yes, of course.” Sasha took his hands and squeezed, hard. “Your reputation of grace and kindness doesn’t do you justice. I hope we can be friends, Philosofia.”

“Sasha, I must speak to you,” Mikasa snapped over his shoulder. He hadn’t even heard her walk up. Sasha cast him an apologetic glance before being dragged outside. Levi followed them.

“Don’t befriend Philosofia! What are you thinking, you idiot?”

“What’s wrong? She seems nice enough.”

They had their argument not far from the dining room, standing underneath a tree. Levi crouched behind some bushes, thankful for the clouds covering the moon.

“She’s not a nice person, Sasha! She’s a spy. I don’t know who she’s working for or why, but she’s dangerous. You shouldn’t be involved with her.”

Mikasa knew he was a spy? How?

“If she is, isn’t that all the more reason to befriend her? Wouldn’t I want someone like that on my side?”

“Spies don’t have allegiances, Sasha. She’d cut your throat in a second if it benefitted her. You must promise me to be careful. I’ve been doing what I can to research her, but nothing has been forthcoming. That means we don’t know just how dangerous she can be. You’d do best to stay away.”

“Alright, fine,” Sasha said. “I trust your judgment.”

Levi’s mind raced. If Mikasa knew he was a spy, that would explain why she hadn’t called on him. She didn’t seem to know much more about him, though she may have been excluding information for Sasha’s sake. He would have to find her research later in her rooms.

The two of them returned to the party. Levi waited a bit before following. He came across Eren in the hall just outside the dining room, holding two glasses of wine.

“I have an idea,” he said, downing one, then the other.

“What?” Levi said, too distracted. He’d never been more unfocused. Right now, he needed to force Eren and Mikasa apart. He’d determine how much of a threat Mikasa was to him later.

“She’ll never want anything to do with me after this,” Eren declared. He smashed the glasses on the ground and stepped into the room, immediately grabbing another from a servant.

“A toast!” he bellowed, lifting his glass in the air. “To our amiable hostess!”

Levi quickly stepped away from him.

“Dearest Mikasa,” Eren said, making direct eye contact with every person who would look at him. Mikasa, at the head of the table, stared, horror slowly diffusing over her features while Sasha gaped openly. “I have been so looking forward to getting to know you. However, I have learned that you are rather a—rather a—how do I phrase this? A locked box, as we of the niceties say.”

More mouths fell open.

“However, recognizing that this is how you prefer your box to be, I have a few words to share with you,” Eren said. “In keeping with my good reputation, I shall forfeit any expectations I had for a furthered relationship with you, and keep my key in my pocket for the remainder of our stay in the Palace together. A toast, then, dearest Mikasa. I hope this is agreeable to you.”

Eren downed the other glass.

“Get out,” Mikasa said.

“Goodbye!”

He blew a kiss to a serving maid before he left.

Everyone broke out into nervous laughter. Mikasa sent a glare around the room, silencing them. Levi went to Lola and told her he meant to leave

“Oh! Then I will, too!” She made her hasty apologies to the young man and gripped Levi’s arm.

They fled the party. Lola wanted to run down the halls, to get away faster. Levi staunchly refused. He dropped her off at her room, and returned to his, but someone was already within.

“I already checked for spies,” Eren told him, taking off his shoes on Levi’s bed. Levi’s blood boiled. How had Eren gotten through the locked door? Could he have seen the men’s clothing hiding in the servant’s closet?

“Don’t put your bare feet on my bed,” Levi said.

“Was I strong enough?” Eren sighed as Levi placed his shoes by the door. “Do you think that there’s any chance she’ll still want to marry me?”

“Are you shitting me?”

“I suppose not,” Eren said. He grabbed Levi by the waist and pulled him into his lap. “I’m certain someone saw me come in here,” he whispered against Levi’s neck.  
“Mikasa can’t marry me with all these rumors about my indiscretions.”

“Don’t drag me down with you.”

“I’ve already sunk as far as I can go, don’t you think?” Eren kissed him slowly, gently, and Levi tasted the wine on his lips, felt a heady, strange feeling settle over him.

Someone knocked hesitantly on the door. Levi pulled away from Eren, hissing, “Under the bed!” Eren complied, slipping out of sight. Levi hastily straightened his hair in the mirror and muttered, “Come in,” when they knocked again.

“Philosofia? Are you alone?”

Insipid Count Viandur. Levi never wanted to see him again, now that he didn’t give a shit about Erwin’s plots.

“Yes, I am,” Levi said, because he must keep up appearances, he must have everyone think everything the same as before if he and Armin would ever succeed.

Count Viandur let himself into the room, eyes sweeping nervously over every surface. “I desperately needed to seek you, but I heard that you took another lover in the form of Councilor Jaeger’s son.”

“Who?” Levi said, and the Count smiled.

“My darling wife is upset with me,” he complained, settling on the bed. “Why should she be, when I am only performing what is natural for a man of my age and stature?”

“Of course, my lord,” Levi said, eyeing the scrap of food left in his beard.

The Count took nearly fifteen minutes to finish, moaning and whining about his wife, and then Levi all but kicked him out, wishing he could strip off his clothing and soak in a bath for a long, long time. Eren crawled out from underneath the bed, looking disgusted.

“This is what I’ve been reduced to,” Levi told him, cleaning his face with a handkerchief. “Does it bother you?”

Eren wrinkled his nose. “What do you gain from the Count? He’s too old for you and Christa isn’t going to die any time soon.”

“Someone like me who doesn’t have any connections needs to make them where they can.”

“Is that why I’m here? For a good connection?” Eren lounged on his bed, his eyes dancing.

Levi snorted. “Hell, no. I could do a lot better than a disgraced son addicted to brandy and opium. I picked you because you’re handsome.”

Eren smiled. “And you’re very beautiful. You’re right. You’re close to disgracing yourself by associating with me. The Count told you there are already rumors about us.”

Levi let himself be pulled into Eren’s lap again. “You’re still young. You can still rise through the ranks.”

“I believe I closed that path for myself tonight.”

“Mikasa isn’t the only person at court.”

“You always have an answer, don’t you, Philosofia Ackerman?” Levi almost shuddered at the use of his full name. “Mikasa detests you, too.”

“Her loss.”

Eren laughed, full and loud, and Levi covered his mouth, hissing at him. Eren kissed his palm, then rolled them over, gently pushing Levi down on the bed; and Levi could forget where he was, for a little while, at least.

\- - - - -

Levi went through his usual routine in the morning, gathering a list of information for Erwin. When he arrived in Erwin’s rooms, prepared to tell him all about the fiasco at Mikasa’s dinner party, he was instead greeted with an absolutely thunderous expression, Erwin’s morning letters and tea set aside on his desk.

“Eren Jaeger?” Erwin said. “Have you gone mad? Do you have any idea who he is?”

“What’s the problem?” Levi asked, taking a biscuit from Erwin’s desk. If Erwin wouldn’t eat them, someone should. His stomach still rumbled from skipping dinner last night.

“You don’t take someone to bed without explicitly discussing it with me first, Levi.” Levi rolled his eyes. “You think he’s the idiot son of the Councilor, like everyone else.”

“Enlighten me.”

“He has no loyalty to his father. He wants power, and he doesn’t care who dies as long as he gets it.”

“How does that make him different from anyone else here?” Levi sat himself at Erwin’s desk, watching the man pace. “If Eren truly wanted power, he wouldn’t have refused Mikasa so obnoxiously last night.”

“No, you fool! Eren doesn’t want to be bound off the mainland. Don’t you remember anything from your expensive history lessons? When our country was first established, the Ackerman, the Jaeger, and the Reiss families fought for power. The Reiss won, and the other two had to content themselves with lesser spoils. They purported themselves to be staunch allies of the Empress ever since, but Eren isn’t content to be a footstool. He wants his family’s legacy restored, and he wants to be the one to restore it.”

“I still don’t see how this makes him any more of a villain than anyone else here,” Levi said.

“He’s had six fiancées in the past six years. One for every year. And now they’re dead, every one of them. You must be careful, Levi. He’s a being of the court, not a person.”

“I’ll be very careful,” Levi said, saluting. He knew the gesture must look singularly strange with his present appearance, and Erwin gave him a withering glance.

“Fine. Don’t listen to me, if you please. You’ll see the consequences soon enough.”

Levi pulled his bottom lip over his teeth. “I’m simply making another connection for you.” He stood up, smoothing the creases from his dress. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Later, he received his letters for the day, including one from Isabel. He spent the better part of an hour deciphering it. _I have learned all I can about Eren Jaeger_ , Isabel had written. _He is a dangerous man, not to be trusted. He has had six fiancées in as many years, but they all died under mysterious circumstances; presumably, he murdered them himself. He pretends to be an uncultured idiot, but seeks the power and fortune denied to his family centuries ago, and not through connections to a wedding ring, but from Empress herself. Whether he means to kill her or ally himself with her is beyond my power to know. You_ must _be careful, Levi. He will use you like he uses everyone else._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really floored at the response the last chapter got. Thank you all so much for your support and wonderful comments! I really do appreciate every single comment I get.

The Empress of Many Masks held court in the throne room once a month. Usually, the Empress herself did not preside over court, but sent her Grand Consort and primary representative in her stead. The Grand Consort, the Empress decreed, was an extension of her own will, and any decisions the Consort made were what the Empress herself would have made.

Levi didn’t know much about Grand Consort Ymir. The most stunning piece of information about her was that she was a foreigner, somehow risen to the highest seat in the country besides the throne itself. The Empress didn’t need to explain her court appointments to anyone, and no one had ever dared ask. Rumor and conjecture abounded in place of an explanation. Most people assumed she was fucking the Empress, or had bribed or threatened her in some way. Regardless, few people ever crossed the Consort; if they did, they disappeared.

Levi was rather surprised at an invitation to sit at court and watch the various peasants and unlucky nobles plead with the Empress. Normally, Council members attended these meetings, but not their wards or children. Levi felt in his stomach that it was better that the Empress should never have acknowledged him, even through a footman and a letter not penned by herself. But he couldn’t possibly refuse, so he went.

Erwin instructed him to dress like a nun, but not in black. The Empress didn’t want any chests bared at her solemn court. Levi obeyed sullenly, resigning himself to an afternoon of tedium.

The Empress’s throne room was rectangular, with a vaulted ceiling and balconies where the nobles might sit to watch the proceedings. The throne itself sat on a high dais with a pool of water at the bottom of the steps. The Grand Consort didn’t sit on the throne, but a chair to the side. The long, thin windows letting in streams of light were the only decoration to the white and gray marble that made up the room.

Levi took his position on a balcony with Erwin, settling into the seats provided. He kept puzzling over why the Empress would bother to invite him. Perhaps Mikasa had told her of her suspicions that he was a spy; but that didn’t seem likely, because he knew Mikasa didn’t have any love for the Empress. That’s why he had been so surprised to see her arrive at the Palace in the first place. Somehow, the Empress had taken notice of him. He didn’t like it.

The Grand Consort arrived. She was a thin, dark-skinned woman who curiously wore an olive-green suit as opposed to the traditional dress or robes. He heard titters through the balconies at the sight of her, near horror that a woman could be seen wearing pants. Grand Consort Ymir flopped into her seat. “Let’s get this over with,” she said in a harsh, slightly nasally voice.

Streams of peasants came in through the next three hours, begging that the Empress attend to their missing livestock, or send more guards to their backwater village, or do something about the foreigners moving in every day. Ymir listened to them all, impatience worn into her thin brows, delivering solutions when she could, and passing on responsibility to the Empress when she couldn’t. None of these people, Levi suspected, would ever have their problems attended to. The Empress wouldn’t waste her time on them.

Then came the nobles. Trade plans purportedly beneficial to their country, ambassadors trying to get a private audience, pages asking if their banished masters could come back from the countryside. Most of these Ymir forwarded to the Empress, and staunchly refused any request to come back to court. Erwin noticed Levi’s restlessness and hissed at him to pay attention. “You can learn much from these proceedings,” he said.

Levi had almost fallen asleep when Eren Jaeger entered, announcing that he had very important news for the Empress.

“You!” Ymir hissed, blinking sleep out of her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Am I not permitted to address the Empress as any other member of court is?” Eren asked, turning his palms towards the ceiling. Everyone gathered perked up. He looked immeasurably handsome in a black suit, his hair slicked back.

“What do you want?” Ymir snapped. Apparently, she’d had an unpleasant run-in with Eren before.

“I’ve come to request a private audience with the Empress,” Eren said. “I’ve news of traitors within her court.”

Beside Levi, Erwin stiffened. Murmurs picked up. Levi wound his ruby ring around his finger, wondering what the hell Eren thought he was doing.

“Why would you tell me this here?” Ymir demanded.

Eren pretended he didn’t understand. “Where else should I go? This is where subjects request to meet with Her Imperial Majesty, is it not?”

By alerting the whole court to this plot, whether it was fictionalized or not, the Empress wouldn’t have any choice but to meet with Eren. If he had gone to her privately, the Empress could have refused him without any repercussions. Now, the whole court would anxiously await news of this traitor.

“Fine,” Ymir said. “You shall have your audience. Await a messenger from the Empress.”

Eren smiled and bowed, almost too low to be respectful. Levi’s hands tightened around the railing without him realizing.

“What do you make of this?” Erwin asked him when the court broke and everyone left. Ymir paced back and forth on the dais, hands clasped behind her back, brows creased. It took Levi a moment to realize Erwin actually meant to get his opinion.

“He’s grasping for anything now that he’s ruined his marriage into the Ackermans,” Levi said. “He needs something to move him towards power.”

Erwin nodded. “And you understand why he’s dangerous, then. He’s just created a scapegoat.”

If Erwin meant to deter him, it wouldn’t work. Everything Eren had done since Levi approached him had been perfectly in line with Armin’s plan. He wanted a chance to tell Armin of everything that had transpired; though, this news was so big, even the servants would hear.

“My colleagues will be in a tizzy, trying to figure out the supposed traitors for themselves,” Erwin said. “Take Lola out for lunch, won’t you? See what her parent has been saying.”

Levi nodded curtly.

He left the throne room, walking around the upper levels of the Palace towards Lola’s room. He took a moment to stand at one of the windows, staring out at the soft, cloudless, blue sky and the vibrant, colorful gardens wrapping around the Palace. He’d never seen anything so lovely; sometimes, he even thought that the beaches of home couldn’t compare.

“Philosofia!” someone hissed behind him.

He started violently and jabbed out with his elbow, clipping them in the nose. “Oh!” Eren wheezed, stumbling back. “Goddess! What an arm!”

“Why would you sneak up on me?” Levi growled.

“I didn’t! I thought I was being noisy!”

Levi hadn’t heard him at all; the same way that he couldn’t feel any temperature from Eren’s skin.

“I must speak with you,” Eren said, crushing his hand. Levi looked around himself wildly. “Not here,” Eren added. “Can you meet me in my room? Just pretend we’re going to fuck. No one will suspect otherwise.”

“Fine,” Levi said. Eren stooped down to press a kiss to the side of his mouth.

“I have you to thank, you know,” he murmured, “for my performance this afternoon. I’ll explain when we’re alone.”

Levi leaned against the window, slightly dizzy, while Eren darted away, silent. His heart pounded. He could hear Erwin’s disapproving voice in his head, berating him for his infatuation. Goddess, he was turning into a fool. Still, he went, giddy with the expectation of kissing Eren again.

Levi didn’t go in through the front door, instead tapping softly on the window. Eren opened it, utterly bewildered. “A lady shouldn’t tromp through the bushes or climb through windows,” he said.

“A lady shouldn’t meet men at all hours, either,” Levi responded, and Eren smiled.

He helped him through the window, using it as an opportunity to grope Levi’s waist and thighs. He knew Eren longed to have sex with him. He’d heard that no one else had been in Eren’s room since they started seeing each other. He wondered what to make of that.

Eren carried him to the bed, then settled on the ground between Levi’s knees. “Why won’t you ever let me make you feel good?” Eren sighed, resting his head in Levi’s lap.

Levi stroked his hair. “We don’t have time for that right now.”

Eren hummed. “I wanted to ask your help.”

“What for?”

Eren lifted his face and stared at Levi with those big green eyes. “I want you to attend the meeting with the Empress with me. State your testimony.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Eren,” Levi said, uneasy.

Eren traced circles onto Levi’s knee. “You helped me towards this. You told me that marrying Mikasa isn’t the only way to attain prominence within this court. And you’re right. But right now, I can’t concern myself with becoming worthy of the Jaeger name. As its son, I need to return it to its proper station, from which it has fallen.”

“What are you saying, Eren?”

“My family is in debt,” Eren told him, “from decades of mismanagement. We can’t maintain our current lifestyle for much longer. Even with my scene at the dinner party, my parents still want to marry me to Mikasa. And her parents, desperate for closer ties to the court, are willing to proceed.”

“What?” A headache bloomed behind Levi’s temples. “Even after you talked about sex in public?”

Eren cracked a smile. “That’s why I need your help. I can’t marry her. I’d lose my mind. I have to make it impossible for my parents to engage me to her.”

“I’ve heard about what you do,” Levi said. “I can’t have any part in that, Eren. Six fiancées in six years. How did they all die?”

“Oh, my first fiancée was involved in a boating accident. Very tragic.” Eren yawned. “I wasn’t anywhere nearby, I assure you. Then bandits happened to attack my second’s carriage. Then facelessness swept the western plains where my third lived.” Another yawn. “You know how these things go.”

“I won’t help you kill Mikasa.”

“Kill her? Oh, gods, no. I’m not stupid enough to attempt that. No, she’s my traitor.”

Comprehension must have dawned over Levi’s face, for Eren continued, “I saw her leave the party with Sasha and talk privately to her. I saw you go outside. It’s simple. Pretend that you overheard their conversation.”

A headache. “I’m no webspinner.”

“You don’t have to be,” Eren assured him. “I’ll provide the script. All you have to do is read it aloud.”

He didn’t want the Empress’s eyes on him any more. Eren meant to play a dangerous game, one that could have disastrous consequences for Levi and Armin.

“You’re going to have to offer me something worthwhile to convince me to accuse my cousin of treason and put myself in the Empress’s awareness.”

Eren smiled widely. “Is that what concerns you? The Empress becoming aware of your existence? I assure you, she already knows the names of everyone at court.”

“I won’t do anything without something in return.” To prove his point, Levi pushed Eren’s head away from his lap.

“You’re a natural of the court, aren’t you?” Eren grumbled. “Well, what do you want?”

Levi considered. If Eren’s mad plan worked, he would be firmly in the Empress’s favor. But he still needed a way to get himself into that party, alongside Eren.

“I need to be your consort,” Levi said.

“Excuse me?” Eren’s thick eyebrows lifted into his hair.

“Not your wife,” Levi stressed. “You don’t have to stop seeing other people. I don’t care who you have sex with. But I need to be the favorite. The one you go to plays and balls with.”

“And how does this benefit you?” Eren asked.

“As a ward, I’m the lowest of nobles, practically a peasant,” Levi said. “I need the good Jaeger name to lift me up. And I haven’t been to the theatre in a few years.”

“You’d accuse your cousin of treason if I made you my mistress?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I want,” Levi said.

“It’s a done deal,” Eren said, actually holding his hand out to shake. “You’re letting me off easy, Philosofia.”

Levi put his arms around Eren’s neck and kissed him, reveling in it. Everything came together very nicely.

He stayed long enough to get Eren off, then left him sleeping and the day almost over. A haze almost like drunkenness kept him oddly giddy as he walked to his rooms. He knew he needed to be more careful, to remember all the shadows lurking in the Palace, but he clung to the remnants of Eren’s touch, the feeling of his hands sliding over his body. He wondered if he could actually show himself naked to Eren, or if he’d ruin everything he and Armin had tentatively built.

_Trust is the worst thing to offer to a noble within these walls_ , Erwin had told him years ago. _Anyone you trust will swallow you whole_.

Erwin didn’t even trust Levi, though he had pulled him out of obscurity. He knew Levi kept secrets of his own; and Levi supposed, considering recent events, he was right not to trust him.

Someone gripped him by the neck and slammed him against the wall. Levi choked. A flash of blonde hair underneath a sapphire circlet shoved itself by his nose. “I have you now, you harlot!” the owner panted. Levi squirmed, growing increasingly desperate and confused. He recognized this woman as the Countess Viandur, Christa, and gaped. She held him perfectly in place, despite being half his size with arms no larger than a twig’s. But he couldn’t move at all. He, someone with years of military training, shouldn’t be bound down by such a tiny person. Sweat built between the folds of his dress. Her breath smelled of too much wine and chocolate, and curiously, she had egg whites down the front of her gown. Levi gripped her tiny wrist and tried to shove it away from his throat. His muscles quaked with the effort, but she only moved an inch. Gods! What happened to him?

“I think you should calm down,” Levi said.

Christa released him and stepped away. He slumped against the wall, fingering his throat. Christa walked up and down the hall, and, unexplainably, pulled another egg from her pocket and smashed it against the wall. “Countess,” he said, tone a hiss. “May I ask why you accosted me?”

Christa wheeled on him, eyes narrowed. A chill wafted through the hallway. Goosebumps sprouted on his arms. “May I ask why you’ve been sleeping with my husband?” she asked.

Levi shrugged. “I get bored."

“Well, then, I suppose if you’re bored, we can easily swap positions. You see how you like being the wife of a lying, cheating leech!” she said, voice shrilly. She threw another egg against the wall.

“This display is unseemly,” Levi said. “People will talk.”

“No, Philosofia, people will talk when they’ve found out all you’ll do for a cock,” she said. She came up close to his face and breathed on him. “You think you can slip by in this Palace sucking off whoever you want, but even walking through the gardens has consequences in this place, and we are watching you. I am not the only one who doesn’t like you. Don’t think no one’s noticed how you’ve slid into Eren Jaeger’s bed.”

“He’s handsome and I told you I’m bored,” Levi said. “I have nothing to hide.”

Christa lifted an eyebrow. “Sure. Let me ask you something, if you nothing to hide. You’re an Ackerman, yes, but from the lesser branch, from those who used to live by the sea, before they all died.”

“That’s correct.”

She smiled slightly. “I never heard of you before you arrived here. And neither, I’ve learned, has your cousin Mikasa or anyone else from the Ackerman family. Was it hard on you, to lose both your aunt and cousin Levi in one night?”

“It’s not something I like to speak of,” Levi said.

The smile grew. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I have a preposition for you. Philosofia can remain here if you provide me with a list of who else the Count is fucking.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Why should I listen to you?”

Countess Viandur was not noble without her husband. The daughter of rich traders who lifted themselves into the bourgeoisie by a series of smart deals over several years. Though, Levi remembered, she did have command of a large drug ring in the city. The recipient of a favorable marriage and a crime lord. But that meant nothing to the Empress. The Empress only acknowledged true-born nobility. What power did she have? Something else was going on here. Christa knew something he didn’t.

“Because you don’t have any choice,” Christa told him, and he believed her.

“Fine,” he relented. “I’ll meet you next week.”

“Three days,” she said.

“Four days, and I’ll tell you a name right now.”

“Fine,” she acquiesced.

“Do you know of Camilia Corwear?” he asked. “Whenever you leave on your early morning rides, she sneaks in right after. She tries on your dresses and jewels and parades around in them, and then she fucks your husband in them.”

Christa’s eyes grew wide, and she chucked another egg into the wall. Levi took the opportunity to leave, amid her howls of revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I posted last chapter, I noticed some annoying formatting errors. If you see anything like that, don't hesitate to let me know!
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a nice weekend! Thank you all again for your support for my fic <3

Levi donned male servant’s garb the next day, and met Armin in one of the old watchtowers, crumbling and only good for cobwebs and secret meetings.

“What’s going on down there?” Armin asked in lieu of a greeting. Mikasa, twirling a large pink umbrella to protect herself from the sun, plodded around in circles around a gazebo in the gardens with her ladies, steadfastly rejecting the pathetic advances from the youngest Booker son.

“He must think there’s an opening, after Eren’s display at the party,” Levi said.

Armin pulled away from the window, seating himself heavily on the ground. He had bags worn under his eyes, and hardly looked capable of raising his arm.

“How’s the potion coming along?” Levi asked.

He grimaced. “Very slowly. It requires certain phases of the moon and exact levels of magic for every single added ingredient—and the ingredients themselves are hard to come by. What about you?”

“You mean you haven’t heard of Eren’s proclamation at court?”

“Yes, but I didn’t realize that was your doing.”

“It wasn’t. But Eren means to sever ties to my cousin and draw closer to the Empress.”

Armin smiled faintly.

“There’s something strange about Eren that I haven’t been able to uncover,” Levi said. “Something that doesn’t make sense. I’ve been in the military, yet I never hear him approach. His skin seems neither cold nor hot, no matter what activity he’s involved in. No one startles me, but he has.”

Armin’s eyes grew very wide. “Levi! Are you certain?”

“What do you mean?” Levi asked impatiently. “Of course I’m certain.”

“That could mean he’s magical, Levi! Or at the very least, half-magical.” Armin sat up very straight. “How could you not mention this before?”

“I don’t know anything about magic!” Levi snapped.

“I’ve never seen anyone with magic at the court besides myself,” Armin mused, eyes bright. “So few people are born with magic that it's practically unheard-of. Do you think—no, that’s absurd.”

“What?” Levi asked.

“Maybe he’s not nearly magical,” Armin said. “Maybe he’s a vampire or a sprite!”

“Creatures like that don’t exist, stupid,” Levi said.

Armin wrinkled his nose at Levi. “You grew up north. You didn’t have the same stories in your childhood as I did. Down south, we learned to fear being stolen away by vampires in the middle of the night. They’re supposed to be attractive, seductive, dangerous, creatures of bad omens. Regardless of their intentions, if a vampire’s nearby, people suffer.”

“Eren’s not a goddess-damned vampire,” Levi said.

Armin shrugged. “Well, nevermind. I’ll do some research into why you haven’t been able to hear his footsteps or feel heat from his skin. At any rate, we don’t have any room for error.” Armin rubbed his temples, sighing. “This is becoming more wound together by the second. I almost wish we could abandon ship and find another noble to manipulate.”

“Eren is on a good track with this plot. And I don’t want to start over.”

“Neither do I.”

Levi glanced down below at Mikasa. She had finally gotten rid of the Booker son and fanned herself in the shade of the gazebo, her ladies fretting around her. She looked bored to tears.

“I should get going,” Levi said. “I don’t know when I’m going to be called for my testimony.”

“Good luck,” Armin said solemnly, and Levi rolled his eyes.

He changed into his proper clothing in his room, then prepared to spend the afternoon listening to Lola Zoe’s chatter until someone summoned him. He found Lola supposedly reading a book in the library, but really watching everyone who went by.

“Oh, Phila, you look so pretty today,” Lola said, stroking the loose curls of his wig. Then she giggled and kissed him on the nose.

“What’s gotten into you?” Levi said, flushing.

“Oh, I don’t know. I saw the Grand Consort and the Countess Viandur kissing, so I wondered if it was stylish to kiss other women now.”

“The Grand Consort? And the Countess?”

“Yes. They went into one of the parlors. Here. I can show you.”

Lola flung the book aside and beckoned for Levi to follow her out of the library. She pointed not too discreetly at the closed door of the parlor, not far from the library. Levi motioned for her to stand behind a pillar, at least. “Stay right here,” Levi said, clipping his hair on top of his head. “I’ll be right back.”

“Phila! Where are you going?”

“I have to see this with my own eyes, Lola,” he said. “Hold on.”

He snuck outside. Levi flattened himself underneath the window of the parlor, barely breathing. The Grand Consort and the Countess couldn’t be fucking. That would be insane.

He listened for half a moment. They were fucking.

They finally finished nearly ten minutes later. Levi listened to quiet breathing and giggles for a while, before one of the women, undoubtedly Ymir, said, “Anything I should know about lately?”

Christa whispered something. Ymir said, loftily, “Is that so? Levi, you said?”

Dread washed over him.

“Yes, Kuchel’s son,” Christa said. “The one who died in facelessness.”

He hoped to the gods Christa thought he was dead.

“I’ll let him know,” Ymir said.

“Thank you, Ymir,” Christa said. Levi heard something like a slap, and a giggle.

“We’ve been here almost an hour! You want to go more?”

“With you? Of course.”

Levi left. His gut churned.

“Did you see them?” Lola whispered urgently, twisting her hands in her lap.

“They’re fucking.”

Lola winced a moment at his crass language, but said, almost reverently, “How do two women even make love, Phila? How is that possible?”

“Are you asking to find out?” Levi said, and she went completely red.

“Oh, Phila! Aren’t we good friends?”

“Of course,” Levi said, unclipping his hair. He stole behind the pillar with Lola and watched Christa leave the parlor, glancing around herself furtively, adjusting her dress. Ymir left a few minutes later, grinning madly.

“I wonder what it’s like to have a lover,” Lola sighed, after Levi shepherded her back into the library.

“You’ll have to find someone to have sex with you first,” he said. Lola made a face.

“That’s not fair! You’ve had plenty of lovers, so you’ve grown hardened to my plight.”

“I wouldn’t call them lovers,” Levi muttered.

Not a moment later, a page arrived wearing the Empress’s colors. “Lady Philosofia?” he asked. “You are summoned by the court.”

Levi stood and smoothed out his dress. “See you later,” he said to Lola, who gaped.

The page led him deeper into the Palace, farther than Levi had ever been allowed before. Here, the Councilors went about their daily business. Levi saw Erwin leaving his office, who looked at him in surprise. Levi nodded to him, hopefully a signal to talk later that Erwin would understand.

He was shown into a small, nondescript room without windows and wood-paneled walls, though there were slats in the ceiling; obvious places for others to listen in. The Grand Consort sat in a straight-backed arm chair, dressed in her customary olive-green suit. She didn’t show any signs of an earlier tryst. Eren was already there, trying his best to seem patient, though one of his legs bounced up and down. Levi curtseyed to him and Ymir, staying silent as the page introduced him.

“Take a seat.” Ymir gestured curtly with her hand, and Levi took the open seat next to Eren. Ymir sighed. A scribe, huddling in the corner, furiously recorded everything she saw.

“Lord Jaeger, these are very serious accusations,” Ymir said, rushing through her words as though hoping to get out of here as fast as possible. “Do you understand exactly what will happen to someone you accuse of treason?”

“I’ve considered it very deliberately,” Eren said, “my lady.”

“Get on with it, then,” Ymir said. “Why did you insist on bringing Lady Philosofia here?”

She laid extra emphasis on the word ‘lady,’ her sharp eyes sweeping over Levi.

Eren leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Lady Philosofia overheard a conversation which sparked my investigation into this particular instance of treason. My lady, if you feel comfortable sharing.”

Levi sucked in a breath and related the story Eren had given him. He did his best to appear anxious and unnerved, and he didn’t have to try very hard, wound into knots by both their gazes on him. “At my cousin’s dinner party, I stepped outside briefly for some air, but discovered she and her companion, Sasha Braus, were there. Instead of greeting them, I hid. I didn’t want a private confrontation between myself and my cousin. I . . . don’t think she likes me very much. In hiding, I overheard her speak ill of the Empress and explicitly urge Miss Braus to action against her.”

“What were those words, Lady Philosofia?” Ymir asked.

“She said it was high time that the Ackermans moved away from their confinement on the Isles and retake what should have been theirs to begin with. That the Empress is weak for lurking behind a mask, and that a proper ruler doesn’t hide from her people. She urged Miss Braus to find other like-minded people and bring them to her.”

Ymir’s frown grew more pronounced.

“Lady Philosofia returned to me, frightened by what she had heard,” Eren cut in. “I was deeply disturbed, but I didn’t want to accuse my fellow courtier based on a single conversation, despite how damning it might seem. As you know, Grand Consort, it is highly unusual for a member of the Ackerman family to come to court. I believe she has come for a purpose in accordance with what my lady heard. I found these.” He produced what looked like a series of letters from his coat pocket and handed them to Ymir. Ymir took them and Levi and Eren waited in silence for a period of ten minutes, in which Ymir read through the letters, her eyebrows steadily raising.

“This is—” She shook her head. “This is abominable. Thank you, Jaeger. I’ll consider this very carefully. You both are dismissed.”

They made their goodbyes hastily. In the hallway, in full view of the guards, Eren said loudly, “Are you alright, my lady? I know these circumstances can be very trying.”

“I’ll be fine,” Levi said, doing his best to ignore the hand brushing against his.

They turned down an empty hallway. Eren hoisted Levi up in his arms and pressed him against the wall, kissing him for several long moments. Levi felt a fire radiate from his stomach to his entire body, slow and smoldering. “My very own Grand Consort,” Eren sighed onto his lips.

Levi adjusted his grip, groping his chest and shoulders. “You think we did well?”

“I think we did very well. Let’s see Mikasa wiggle out of this.” Eren kissed him again. “You’ve made me so happy, Phila, that I could make you my wife.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Levi squirmed, and Eren set him down, pushing his hands through Levi’s soft, fake hair.

“All we have to do is wait,” Eren whispered. “You’ll see. Perhaps I’ll be knighted for my service, and I’ll take you to all the plays you desire.”

He had a letter from Isabel waiting for him when he returned. _I’ve learned more about Eren Jaeger_ , she had written. _His mother’s origins are unknown and hardly anyone alive has ever seen her. Rumors abound that she is a vampire. Most don’t even think she really resides within the Jaeger manor. Supposedly, she enchanted Eren’s father, bore him a son, then left to perform the same on other mortals around the world. Whether this is true or not doesn’t change the likelihood that Eren may not be human. I have a direct, trustworthy source who tells me Eren doesn’t use his shipments of opium and brandy for himself. He lures commoners to his manor with them, then whether he kills them outright or performs some other darkness is unknown. Regardless, I urge even more caution when dealing with him. Secrecy is his main art._

\- - - - -

Levi spoke with Armin that night. He seemed skeptical that Ymir could have accepted Eren’s story so easily and urged Levi to remain vigilant. Levi planned on attending Mikasa’s informal hearing anyways. He figured that if Mikasa knew Philosofia didn’t actually exist, she would out him in an effort to divert attention from herself and undermine his trustworthiness. If she did, he’d be forced to strike some type of deal with Ymir. Although, he suspected Ymir knew the truth, anyways; why she wouldn’t reveal it was beyond him to know.

He tailed the Grand Consort for most of the day, unsure when or where she would summon Mikasa. At noon, as the clock struck, she marched to Mikasa’s chambers with a retinue of guards, a thin rapier on her person this time. Ymir flung open the door to the rooms herself, bellowing at the various servants and ladies-in-waiting to get out. Levi wiggled his way into the servant’s closet, a tiny hole filled with moldy straw mattresses and rat dung. He kept himself silent and still, peering through the slats in the wall.

“Lady Mikasa Ackerman,” Ymir said. She had caught Mikasa in the process of arranging a circlet over her curled hair; rose colored gems to match her gown. “I must have a word with you.”

“Why would you summon away my servants and handmaidens?” Mikasa asked, annoyed. “What could be so serious?”

“You’re facing dire accusations of treason and conspiracy against the crown. Have a seat. You and I need to talk.”

Mikasa wordlessly sat in the closest chair. Ymir crossed her arms and paced the room. “I’ve received a few letters I think you’ll want to explain.”

“What letters?” Mikasa asked. She seemed remarkably calm for someone facing a lifetime in prison.

“Those between yourself and a source from outside the country, discussing the Empress’s removal.”

Mikasa’s face went white. “May I possibly peruse those letters?”

“I don’t think so.”

Mikasa launched herself from the chair to her knees, sobbing outright and tearing at her hair. Levi had never seen such a display of emotion from her before. She flattened herself into a bow at Ymir’s feet, the words spilling from her mouth made incomprehensible from her sobbing.

“Control yourself!” Ymir said. “What do you have to say?”

Mikasa flung herself into a kneeling position, pushing her hair back from her face. Levi saw real tears falling from her eyes, and he wondered how long she had practiced doing that. “I’m so sorry, Grand Consort,” she said. “They had me backed into a corner. But you’ve found them out now. It all will come out.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Bookers are after my lands and fortune like every other in this place,” Mikasa replied. “They wanted to me to take the fall if their plan failed. I’m telling the truth. Search their apartments and you’ll find it out.”

“Remain right here,” Ymir instructed. She sent guards into the room to watch Mikasa and departed. Levi waited in the little closet for over an hour, holding his breath. He had an uncomfortable pit in his stomach he’d come to associate with being outsmarted.

Ymir returned. Her face was blank. “Get up,” she said to Mikasa.

“You’ve seen that I’m telling the truth,” Mikasa said, but Ymir did not respond.

They left. Levi scrambled out of the closet, his limbs stiff and wooden from over an hour spent crouching and still. He had half a thought to search Mikasa’s apartments, but left the room instead. He slunk down the hallway, and not even a moment later, heard such a stamp of feet that he rushed into a doorway to hide himself. A petite figure, dressed in resplendent robes of red with gold threading of hundreds of tiny flowers, a massive crown of multicolored jewels on her flowing blonde hair, marched to Mikasa’s chambers. In her right hand, she bore a staff taller than herself made of smooth, black wood with a glowing prism at the end. A simple, ivory mask covered her face, with only slits for eyes and mouth. “Tear it apart!” she cried in a high voice. “I know there are lurkers here. Snuff them out!”

_The Empress!_

The guards proceeded into the room and kicked apart the tiny servant’s closet, shoving aside furniture, knocking over chairs. The Empress was right in front of him. He could kill her right now.

But even as he thought it, he knew that he couldn’t. She had more than a dozen guards with her, and, despite all his military training, he couldn’t hope to stand against them. He slipped out of his hiding place and away, the banging and clashing from their ransack of Mikasa's rooms echoing after him.

He’d lost Ymir and Mikasa. Levi flitted down several hallways, noticing how the passerby grew more distressed-looking the closer he got to the main courtyard.

Someone hissed, “Levi!” A pale hand pulled him into a storage closet.

It was Armin. “What is it?” Levi asked.

“The Grand Consort is going to execute the Bookers!” Armin said, his entire face flushed. “All of them! What the hell happened?”

“Mikasa said the Bookers made her act against the Empress,” Levi said. “Ymir must have found something in their apartments. But would she really execute them without a trial?”

“She has them all lined up in the main courtyard right now!” Armin said. “I heard she’s going to kill them with facelessness!”

Levi’s face spasmed. “What about Mikasa?”

“She’s safe. She stood right beside the Grand Consort when they were lined up!”

His gut churned unpleasantly again. “Eren?”

“He’s there, too, but the Grand Consort seems to have forgotten about him.”

_This is a disaster._ “I’m going.”

“Levi! You’re still dressed like a man! It’s dangerous for you!”

Levi left anyways, practically sprinting for the main courtyard. Clouds had overtaken the sky, turning everything gray and listless. Grand Consort Ymir stood in a balcony overlooking the courtyard with Mikasa at her side. The entire Booker family, the aging mother and father, the two eldest siblings, and the six-year-old, knelt in the dirt, shivering, hands bound. Guards surrounded them. Courtiers and servants congregated together at the edges of the courtyard, faces wan. Levi shoved his way through with a series of jabs, cursing his shortness. He stopped just behind the first line of people, squinting over their shoulders at the poor Booker family. Goddesses. His hands felt clammy.

Ymir read off a list of transgressions, her voice snapping around the courtyard. Treason, plotting against the Empress, enlisting foreign aid, deceiving the court. None of them tried to deny it. They must know they couldn’t escape. It didn’t matter whether they were guilty or not.

Levi saw Eren standing in the crowd, stone faced. He leaned over and whispered something to someone Levi couldn’t see.

When Ymir announced death by facelessness, the crowds drew back, murmurs of discomfit. One of the guards approached the Bookers with a vat full of a gleaming, dark green liquid with pungent fumes of shifting violet and florescent green. It smelled like rotting wheat after a failed harvest, dozens of decayed shells washed up on the shore, an old perfume locked in the back of a drawer. It smelled like his mother’s death chamber.

“What a foul, evil thing,” someone whispered.

Another guard held the patriarch of the Booker family by his silver hair and dunked him face first into the vat. A horrid screaming filled the courtyard. His family flung themselves from side to side, pleading and sobbing with the guards. The guard lifted him from the vat. Instead of a face, Levi saw a gray mass, dripping onto the ground. The body collapsed and the guard immediately plunged the matriarch into the poison.

It didn’t take long. At the end of it, six decaying corpses sat in the courtyard. Medics, dressed in stark white with masks to shield their mouths and noses entered straight away to quarantine the facelessness and prevent it from spreading. Levi watched them for a time, even as everyone slowly filtered out of the courtyard, hushed. Ymir, accompanied by a softly smiling Mikasa, left. He felt utterly drained, as though someone had pricked a hole in the back of his neck and sucked his muscles out of him. The deceased women in their beautiful dresses were indistinguishable from his mother.

He felt eyes on him. He looked up.

Eren stared at him, face blank. Levi quickly averted his eyes and left, unease prickling the back of his hands.

\- - - - -

Armin left him a note saying that, although the execution had set them back in other ways, seeing the facelessness poison in person allowed him to discover what was missing from his own potion. They inched even closer to their goal. Levi didn’t feel that way. He knew he was in more danger than ever. He had grown too bold, too obvious with Eren, and had given others the power to reveal him. He needed to keep a low profile for a time.

Eren didn’t summon him for a few days; too upset, Levi supposed, by their recent failure. Despite this, the Empress had allegedly congratulated him on bringing the treason to light, albeit in an unintentionally untrue manner. But that wouldn’t get Eren invited to any private dinner parties.

So Levi spent his time doing his cursory spywork for Erwin, giving over long afternoons and evenings to Lola Zoe. Erwin was ecstatic when she invited him to her family’s estate for the week, keeping him away from the court’s eyes for a time and allowing him opportunities to study Councilor Zoe’s residence. But Levi could only spend so many hours lounging by streams listening to Lola’s chatter and taking note all of the paintings Hanji had on their walls before itching to return to court life; to hiding inside walls listening to conversation he shouldn’t hear, to trailing someone unnoticed the entire day, to resealing letters he shouldn’t have read.

He and Lola took her family carriage back to the Palace at the end of the week. Levi's skin had burned from the days spent out in the sun while Lola had the beginnings of a nice tan. “Isn’t it so pleasant to spend time in the countryside?” Lola sighed. “I need a break from court every once in a while. I can’t wait until the season is over and I can live at home permanently again.”

“I don’t want to go back to Erwin’s estate,” Levi moped.

“You can always stay with me, Phila!” Lola said brightly, covering his hand with her own. “My family would be delighted to have you!”

They’d be delighted to search through his trunks and letters. “I’d like that.”

The carriage pulled up to the main entrance of the Palace—not where the execution had taken place. He and Lola hopped out, letting the servants struggle with their luggage. A curl stuck in his sun hat distracted Levi, and he didn’t notice Lola stopped walking, smacking into her. “Who is that?” Lola whispered.

A petite, blonde woman dressed very simply in a rose-colored coat and skirts faced away from them. Levi at first thought it might be Countess Viandur, but then the woman turned around. She had the same sharp, penetrating blue eyes, but the rest of her features were angular and cold. She stared at Lola and Levi as they came up the steps, curtseying out of politeness. She inclined her head.

“Let me guess,” she said. “By the seal on the carriage, one of you must be Councilor Zoe’s child. Probably not the fair-skinned one.”

Levi bristled, but Lola said cheerily, “That would be me, madame,” even though Levi saw no ring on her finger. “I am Lola Zoe. Very pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Sure,” the woman said. To Levi, “Who are you?”

“It’s rude to ask a name without giving one yourself,” Levi said.

She lifted a thin eyebrow, though a smirk played at her lips. “I am Annie Leonhart. You’re Philosofia Ackerman, correct?”

He nodded tightly, as Lola asked, “What brings you to the Palace, Miss Leonhart?”

Her eyes slid away from their faces into the distance. “My friend asked me to come, as we haven’t seen each other in a while,” she answered. “Excuse me. We shall have to continue this another time. I hope I can see the two of you again.”

And all of this delivered in a tone more appropriate for curses. Annie swept away into the Palace, barely waiting for the guards to open the doors. Lola and Levi looked at each other.

“Very unpleasant,” Lola said. “Well, I’m not obligated to spend time with someone I’ve never heard of before. She mustn’t be noble-blooded, otherwise I should have recognized her name. I bet she’s the daughter of a merchant, and only made it here through wheedling.”

“You didn’t recognize her name?” Levi asked. Something tugged at him, some remembrance demanding to come to the front of his mind, but he couldn’t figure out why her name seemed familiar.

“Not at all, Phila. But that just means she’s not important.”

Levi made up his mind to tail Annie, too overpowered by curiosity, once he could get rid of Lola and get out of his dress. It didn’t take too long to find her. Everyone fell to gossiping about the stranger, without any apparent noble blood or the Empress’s sanction, walking about as though daring anyone to defy her. Levi started to get bored watching her walk through several hallways ceaselessly, until he realized she headed unerringly towards his own rooms. She walked right past them, down another hallway, then knocked twice on Eren’s door. He opened it himself and said something in French. She responded in kind, then closed the door behind herself.

A scrap of a memory came to mind. A letter he’d read in Eren’s room, addressed to A.L. As he had ages ago, he stole to the window of Eren’s bedroom and crouched underneath it, listening, ignoring the hot sun, the bugs crawling over his shoes, the dirt sinking into his knees.

“Did you check the room?” Annie asked, her voice marginally softer than the tone she’d used on Levi.

“ _Bien sûr_. Do you think I’m stupid? You can check yourself, if you want,” Eren replied. He sounded very close, and Levi guessed he rested against the windowsill.

“Don’t be so confrontational. It wasn’t easy getting here.”

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry. I’m in knots ever since Mikasa showed herself to be more of a rat than I expected. And Philosofia hasn’t contacted me in over a week, trying to lay low, I suppose. It’s grating on me.”

“Who cares about Philosofia?”

Eren laughed. “There have been many changes since you left, Annie; more than you know. Regardless, the Empress is probably already aware that you’re here. We don’t have much time.”

“Just tell me what you need,” Annie said, sounding bored. Levi wished he could see them, see how close they stood to each other.

“I would greatly appreciate it if you could understand what went wrong here. Why Ymir listened so readily to Mikasa.” Eren huffed. “Things I can’t easily do myself.”

“I know. Give me a day or too.”

“Make yourself at home,” Eren drawled, “and stay away from Philosofia. I don’t want you making her uncomfortable.”

“Sure, sure,” Annie said.

Was she Eren’s personal spy? That seemed to be the only explanation that made sense. Eren stood and Levi heard a wet, smacking sound. He stared at his shoes as Eren bid goodbye to Annie. A moment later, Eren called one of his servants in. “Ask Lady Philosofia to dinner with me,” he said. “Tell her I miss her.”

Levi rose from his hiding place and slunk away. He climbed through the window of his own room, checking for lurkers and missing or moved items without any real concentration; someone could have misplaced his bed and he wouldn’t have noticed. Changing into the wig and a nightgown as quickly as he could, he told the servants outside to admit no one, for he was tired and had a headache. A few minutes later, the messenger from Eren arrived and was turned away. Levi stayed in his room, reading the books Isabel had sent him in her last letter huddled under the blankets, dwelling miserably with the thought that the entire Palace might crash down on him in another second.

Eren sent another messenger after an hour had elapsed. Levi turned him away too. They arrived every hour, and Levi refused to admit them without giving Eren a proper explanation. Towards six, Eren himself arrived, made evident by the flurry of activity outside Levi’s door. His servants tried vainly to prevent him entering, but Eren said loudly, “No, I _shall_ speak with your mistress.”

Eren barged through the door, followed by a few apologetic servants. Levi looked up from his book, hating how the wig weighed heavily on his shoulders. “Don’t you respect my autonomy, Eren?” Levi asked woodenly.

Eren looked surprised. “I thought you ill.”

“We tried to keep him out, mistress,” one of the servants said.

“It’s alright,” Levi said. “Leave us, please.”

They filed out and shut the door behind them. Levi sighed and placed a bookmark in the novel. Eren sat on the bed.

“I have two tickets to the theatre for next week, Philosofia,” Eren said. “I thought you might like to go.”

Levi wondered if he could tell Eren that he could barely sit through a half an hour dinner, let alone an entire afternoon devoted to a play. “Perhaps.”

“You’ve been ignoring me,” Eren said, a whine to his tone. He ran a hand down Levi’s leg. “I know the whole plot with Mikasa turned into a debacle, but the Grand Consort understands I didn’t have all the necessary information. It didn’t lower us in her regard in any aspect.”

“Huh,” Levi said.

Eren put the book on the nightstand and grabbed Levi’s wrists, tugging him over to his lap. Levi irritably jerked his hands away, pushing him off the bed. Eren laughed.

“What’s funny?” Levi asked.

“I think I know what the problem is,” Eren said. Levi turned away, crossing his arms. Eren wrapped his own arms around Levi's torso, placing his chin in Levi’s hair. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? Of Miss Leonhart. You think she’s something she’s not. You don’t have anything to be jealous of, Levi.”

Levi froze.

“That’s right. I know the truth,” Eren said flippantly. One of his hands slipped dangerously close to between Levi’s legs. “You’re not the only spy in the Palace, Levi.”

“Why—” Levi couldn’t finish his thought. Eren tilted his chin back and kissed him.

“Did you think that it would bother me?” Eren asked. “Did you think I would reject you?”

“It’s not about you,” Levi gasped. “It doesn’t matter whether you would or not. I need to stay alive.”

Eren hummed, kissing a trail down his neck. “You’re terrified of what might happen if the Palace finds out, and you’re terrified that this gives me leverage over you, but you have nothing to fear from me, Levi. I always wanted to see you as you were, didn’t I?” He palmed between Levi’s legs. “Doesn’t this give you a new sort of freedom? You know what I want from this, Levi, but what do _you_ want?”

Levi had a white-knuckled grip on Eren’s hand, his heart beating so fast he thought he might pass out. Eren breathed softly, evenly against his ear. “I think I know,” Eren whispered, and Levi closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, before I reread this chapter I forgot that all this crazy shit happens within less than 6000 words. Anyways, I hope you are looking forward to next chapter! ;)
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your response to last chapter! I decided to post this chapter early because you all seemed eager for it lmao

Levi stretched his hands above his head so Eren could tug his dress off. The wig had been dumped onto the floor. Eren marveled at the texture of his real hair, pressed his lips to his hairline. He’d wanted to take off the makeup and powders, too, to see Levi’s “natural beauty,” as he called it, but Levi refused, so he left it alone.

“I recognized you, you know,” Eren said. “Don’t you remember when I ran into you dressed as a servant?”

“How could I forget?” Levi grumbled.

“It took me a while to connect you to Lady Philosofia. It made sense when I saw you again at the execution.” Eren sighed, fumbling with the stays of Levi’s undergarments. “Why did you get so close to me and risk blowing your cover? After all, I did figure it out.”

“I was interested in you,” Levi said, placing his hands over Eren’s own. Together, they slipped off the last of his clothes, and Eren sighed again, but this time of contentment.                                                                                                 

“You’re lovely,” he murmured, kissing a line down Levi’s chest. Levi squirmed, tamping down the instinct to shove him off.

“Don’t make me be the only one naked,” Levi said. Eren smiled and slipped off his shirt. Levi admired his tanned, unblemished skin, the skin of a noble who had never faced any physical hardship in his life. He eyed the bulge in Eren’s pants, remembering how it felt to have it in his mouth and wanting, desperately, to have it inside him.

Eren seemed to like to take his time. He kissed the hollow of Levi’s throat before moving to one of his nipples, nipping softly at it and flicking at it with his tongue. Levi arched off the bed, a small moan escaping him. “Do you like that?” Eren asked, and Levi nodded; but not as much as he would like Eren between his legs.

Levi spread his legs wide to accommodate Eren, and Eren draped himself over him, kissing down his torso. His tongue swirled over the muscles on Levi’s stomach before his head jerked up. “Were you in the military?” Eren asked, and Levi nodded.

“That’s why you have such a good right hook,” Eren said approvingly.

“Less talking,” Levi groaned.

Eren had taken his cock out and stroked it as he kissed Levi. Levi panted, his entire body thrumming with excitement, digging his heels into Eren’s back and trying to get his attention where he wanted it. Eren finally stopped with his mouth hovering over Levi’s crotch and said, almost reverently, “Thank you, Levi.”

“What?” Levi said, head fuzzy. Eren just shook his head and smiled, kissing Levi’s inner thighs before finally putting his mouth on him.

Pleasure shot through him. Levi arched his back again, staring at the ceiling with his mouth hanging open while his hands clung to Eren’s hair. Eren hummed and he knew exactly what to do with his tongue, knew exactly how to make Levi squirm and pant and moan. Levi's stomach burned with heat and a coil of pleasure wound tighter and tighter. His thighs shuddered and twitched. Eren pushed him to the brink of orgasm, then pulled away, grinning and clearly satisfied with himself. “Eren,” Levi whined. “I want more—Please—I—”

“Hold on, hold on.” Eren kissed him, and Levi grimaced at the taste. He felt a finger prodding at him.

“Just put it in,” Levi said impatiently. “I’ve had bigger than you, c’mon.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Eren demurred. "Also, I'm not going in dry."

Levi jerked his head at the dozens of pots and vials on his vanity. "Red, squat jar."

Eren got up to get the jar. Levi watched his reddened cock bob as he moved. Eren returned to the bed with the jar, kissing Levi slowly, sweetly. "I can't believe you had this hiding among all your makeup," he said, "right in plain sight. What do you even need this for? I thought Philosofia never let her lovers inside."

Levi rolled his eyes. "I use it to finger myself."

He didn't miss the way Eren's cock twitched. "Oh, my," he uttered. He repositioned himself between Levi's legs. Levi let his head fall against the pillows, his whole body tensing at the thought of having Eren inside of him. It had been so long since he'd last done this with someone. Eren gently rubbed at him with a finger, not yet pushing inside.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered. Levi shuddered at the coldness of the oil. Eren kissed him again. Levi squeezed his eyes shut so he didn't have to see the soft, tender expression on Eren's face.

“Relax,” Eren said, and Levi exhaled, releasing a tension in his chest. Eren's finger pushed inside of him. Levi felt it sink down to the last knuckle, felt Eren slide it slowly in and out, and the pleasure simmering in his gut grew tighter.

“Don’t you trust me?” Eren asked. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”

He looked so beautiful in the sunlight, his red lips swollen from kissing, his strong, muscular shoulders, and cock hard with want, all because of Levi. His other hand stroked Levi's face, too softly, in a way that made Levi's heart seize.

"Levi?"

“I don’t think you’re going to hurt me.”

“Good.” Eren added another finger. Levi’s body tensed up at first before he calmed down, adjusting to the feeling of being penetrated. It wasn’t even that pleasurable yet, but he still felt painfully aroused, knowing it would be; watching Eren’s face, brows furrowed in concentration, the sweat on his forehead, the hair dangling in front of his beautiful green eyes. Levi noted vaguely that Eren's hands still felt cold.

“Can I add another one?”

“Yes, yes!”

Levi clenched around Eren’s fingers as he gently prodded inside of him. His orgasm mounted again, spiking, and Eren hadn’t even properly fucked him yet.

“How are you feeling?” Eren asked.

“I’m going to come,” Levi said and Eren laughed.

“Don’t you want me?”

Levi nodded mutely.

“Just give me a minute.” Eren’s face looked pinched as he gripped the base of his cock, and Levi thought that some things couldn’t be faked.

Levi closed his eyes as Eren pushed inside of him, wearing crescents in Eren’s skin with his nails. Eren pulled out several times to oil his cock, swearing to himself, but finally seated himself fully inside Levi. Levi struggled to regulate his breathing, slowly slipping out of himself. Overwhelming pleasure filled him and he couldn’t hear anything Eren said. He wrapped his legs around Eren's waist, shaking. Loud, high pitched moans and gasps filled the room. Eren pulled in and out rhythmically, his face in the crook of Levi’s neck and shoulder, and Levi watched his muscle flex with wide eyes. Nothing seemed to matter anymore but Eren's cock inside of him, pleasuring him, Eren's grunts in his ear, Eren's hands gripping his thighs, the sharp slap of Eren's hips against his own, Eren, Eren, Eren.

When Eren came, crying out, Levi squeezed his eyes shut as his own orgasm was wrung out of him, finally, his whole body tensing and shuddering, a pulse he never wanted to end.

But it did end, and Eren pulled out, wincing. Levi flopped back against the bed, utterly spent and content. He didn’t have the energy to move and honestly didn’t think he could. Eren kissed his temple and stumbled off the bed. He returned with a wash cloth, wiping between Levi’s legs. “That was good, wasn’t it?” he whispered, laying himself beside Levi and stroking his sweaty cheek.

“More than good,” Levi said, drinking in the sight of him, too amazed by his own luck. Levi propped himself up on an elbow and kissed him, felt Eren smile against his mouth, felt something tender and unknown blossom in his chest.

Afterwards, Levi listened to Eren’s heartbeat while Eren slept. He let Eren wake up naturally a few hours later, numbed and strangely insulated from the rest of the world.

Eren rolled over, catching one of Levi’s hands and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. Levi looked away. The kisses continued, down his arm and up his neck, to his lips. “Have you ever truly made love with anyone before?” Eren asked curiously.

“Don’t kid yourself.”

“I don't mean just having sex, Levi. I mean connecting with another person through sex.”

Levi didn't answer.

"I don't mind if you have," Eren said, as though bestowing a great gift upon him. Levi snorted and pushed Eren off of him so he could stretch and take a piss.

When he returned, Eren sat in the middle of the bed, flipping through one of Isabel’s books. Levi was surprised he didn't appear to have gone through anything else. “You enjoy mysteries?” Eren asked, nose wrinkled.

“Not particularly,” Levi said. “My friend thinks I need to read more.”

Eren tossed the book aside and looked expectantly at Levi. Levi slid into his lap, pressing his cheek against Eren’s, fitting his arms firmly around Eren’s shoulders. “Are you alright?” Eren asked, seeming a bit amused as he ran his hands up and down Levi’s back. Levi hummed.

“I have to ask you,” Levi said, drawing away to look at Eren’s face fully. The afternoon glow made him even more handsome, and it would have been so easy to forget himself and kiss Eren until the sun went down. “What does this change?”

Eren seemed confused. “Nothing. You’re still my consort. I still need a way to get Mikasa out of the picture.”

 _I still need a way to get you into the Empress’s dinner party and prevent Ymir and Mikasa from exposing me_. “There’s something you should know. I suspect that my cousin knows of my identity. And you’re aware how little she likes me. If she caught wind of my involvement in our earlier plan—”

“You think she might reveal you?” Eren asked. “Why wouldn’t she have done so already?”

“I’m not sure.”

“If I go after her again, it’ll only look suspicious,” Eren warned him. “I can work from behind the scenes, but I can’t make public moves against Mikasa. You’ll have to do that yourself.”

“I know that,” Levi snapped.

“Listen. We need something to blackmail her with. Something so embarrassing she’ll have to leave the Palace for a time.” Eren leaned back on his hands, looking satisfied with himself. “Then I’ll find someone suitable to my parents’ needs, and then I can finally work on restoring favor with the Empress.”

“I didn’t realize that was something you actively wanted.”

“It’s the only way I’m going to get any of my family’s fortune back. My creditors don’t care that my father is a Councilor, but they will obey the word of their Empress. And the Empress has forgiven the debts of her favorites.” Eren nodded. “She’ll give us a nice piece of land, a portion of some trades. We’ll dine for seven courses, at the Empress’s own table. Attend premier theatre, even though I hate the theatre.” Eren stroked Levi’s jaw with his thumb. “Wouldn’t you like that?”

“Of course,” Levi whispered.

“We’ll have it shortly. You’ll see, Levi,” Eren mumbled. “I won’t disappoint you.”

\- - - - -

It was said that Countess Viandur was slowly destroying everyone her husband had ever slept with, tearing apart their rooms, slandering their reputations, and embarrassing them publicly. The Countess was on a rampage, but her rage never touched Lady Philosofia.

Eren stole out of his room in the mornings, hair in disarray, clothes askew, but no one commented on this because it was such a common circumstance.

Levi spent most of his time stalking Annie Leonhart and feeding Erwin whatever stupid information crossed his mind in the evenings. His nights were devoted to Eren. Annie infuriated him. She didn’t seem to do anything but spend hours in the library, reading tomes about the history of various wars across the continents and writing long letters in French that Levi had to copy and forward to Isabel if he wanted to know what they meant. Isabel’s research hadn’t turned up much about her. She said she was apparently the daughter of a newly made noble, very lowly ranked, and that her father had offended the Empress through some public drunken behavior which had earned his family banishment. The Empress evidently didn’t care that Annie had come back.

Isabel irritated him in her letters by continually cautioning him against Eren. She’d evidently heard of their increased involvement and begged Levi not to take the rumors of Eren’s vampiric parentage lightly. Superstitious nonsense.

When Annie wasn’t wasting her life in the library, she was having lunch or tea with Eren, which annoyed Levi to no end. Eren did most of the talking, while Annie sat sullen like she’d rather hang herself than listen to him. Some people didn’t know their own fortune.

He gave up on stalking Annie. Eren had said they needed something on Mikasa, anyways. So he stalked her instead. Unfortunately, the life of a Princess involved countless tedious parties and social calls, coupled with hosting and opera. When Mikasa was off making her rounds of the nobles living outside the Palace in the city itself, Levi stole into her room, searching letters, between pillows, underneath the bed, the sides of drawers, anything. He only found a letter complaining to her mother that her feet often smelled after all day confined in her silk shoes and that none of the lotions seemed to help. Perfect for embarrassing her, but nothing worth a scandal.

He was debating the worth of copying the letter to circulate around court anyways when he heard voices outside. Levi frantically replaced the letters and stuffed himself behind a dresser, hoping Mikasa wouldn’t think to check a space so small. The door banged open. A flurry of feet stamped in. “I’m not interested in speaking to you right now,” Mikasa snapped.

“Please, your highness, hear my plea,” a male voice said. Levi didn’t recognize it.

“Sasha,” Mikasa said.

“You’d better leave now,” Sasha warned.

“I cannot! I must speak to her highness.”

“You won’t speak at all any longer if you persist!” Mikasa said.

“I’m going to fetch a guard,” Sasha informed them, and Levi heard her leave.

“Dearest Mikasa,” the man said, followed by a thump that sounded like him dropping to his knees. “You must be aware of my feelings for you. You can’t possibly marry the French-spewing fop Eren. You should attach yourself to someone with clout and vigor, like myself.”

“Get away from me!” Mikasa cried. “I don’t have any interest in groveling worms.”

“Your words wound me, but I know if I keep trying—”

“There’s nothing to try for! Gods! You’re disgusting!”

“Mikasa, my dear—”

“Don’t touch me!”

A sickening crunch. Levi heard no more voices, only harsh breathing. He held his breath.

“Mikasa?” Sasha returned. “I can’t find the guards. Gods! Mikasa!”

“I know it looks bad,” Mikasa said through clenched teeth.

“Is he dead?” Sasha evidently knelt over to examine the body. “By the gods!”

“I didn’t mean to. I just couldn’t control my strength. He tried to touch me. I wanted him away from me, Sasha.”

“You could lose your head for this, Mikasa!” Sasha said.

“So help me!”

“Just calm down. We need to get him out of here.”

“How?” Mikasa’s skirts swished back and forth; probably pacing. “It’s the middle of the day.”

“Give me some blankets,” Sasha said. Apparently they rolled the body up tight in blankets. “We can put it in the bushes outside your window.”

“Then what next?”

“To the river. I’ll scout ahead for people. You’ll need to move the body.”

“I can do that,” Mikasa said, sounding determined.

“It’ll be alright, Mikasa. No one will ever know.”

Levi heard them drop the body out the window, then climb out after it. Fast as he possibly could, he left the room, his heart pumping. Gods! He’d hoped for a scandal, and Mikasa had given him one!

He found Eren predictably in the gardens, trying to flirt with the serving maids. He was halfway to drunk at eleven in the morning. “Eren!” Levi hissed, almost tripping in his long skirts. “I must speak with you!”

“ _Voulez-vous, ma_ _chère?_ ” Eren asked, blinking owlishly at him.

“By the goddess, Eren, you know I’m not fluent,” Levi snapped.

Eren rolled his eyes. “What is it?”

Levi glanced meaningfully at the servants. Eren dismissed them. Levi shuffled a chair closer to Eren’s and whispered, “Mikasa killed one of her suitors in her room just now.”

Eren’s eyes opened very wide.

“What are you waiting for?” he whispered. “Approach her! This will ruin her, Levi. We should see that it does!”

When Levi returned to the interior of the Palace, he found Mikasa taking her daily walk through the halls with her handmaidens. She wore a dress of bright red, starkly contrasting the white halls and columns. He curtseyed low when they encountered each other, just low enough to be insulting. Mikasa barely acknowledged him, distaste in her furrowed brows and the hard lines of her mouth.

“My cousin,” Levi intoned. “It is such a lovely day for walking. Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” Mikasa groused out.

They linked arms and strode slowly through the halls, nodding at other courtiers. Levi inquired about her health and Mikasa made a cursory investigation into his. He hissed in her ear, “Did you really think no one would find out?”

She stiffened for a moment. “That was fast.”

“Answer me.”

“That was my hope,” she said. Both of them spoke barely above a murmur. “Well, now you’ve found me out. What do you want?”

“Your entire life is at stake here, cousin. You know that, don’t you?”

“And?” Mikasa hissed. “I have land and money, Philosofia, more than you can comprehend. Anything you want, I can give.”

Levi could have laughed. “Trying to bribe me?”

“Why would you bring this up if you didn’t want something?”

“Is that how you nobles operate?” Levi asked. “Always thinking about the ulterior motives of the other side. Haven’t you considered that what you did was horribly wrong?”

They both smiled at a Councilor before continuing on. “I know what you want, Philosofia,” Mikasa said, “and you can have it. Eren’s parents want him to marry the Ackerman name—He can have yours. I’ll donate a dowry to whatever Smith will give you and a large piece of land. An entire island, outfitted with its own castle that I will give to you in your own name. _You_ can marry Eren, since you like him so much. Furthermore, I will formally conduct you into the Ackerman main branch. You see you have only to benefit from silence.”

“I want something else,” Levi said.

He felt rage waft off of her. “What else could you possibly want?” she hissed.

“I’ll tell you,” he said. “Soon, you’ll attend a dinner party with the Empress and Grand Consort, won’t you?”

Mikasa was a Princess of Mitras. To overlook her would be a dangerous oversight. The Empress wouldn’t refuse her invitation.

“Yes?” Mikasa snapped. “What do you care about that?”

“I want you to beg off the invitation and send your fiancé and his friend instead.”

Mikasa was silent for a moment. “So, you’re one of those people who will risk their own lives just to get a glimpse of the Empress’s face,” she said. “I should have expected as much from someone raised by Smith. And this is what I need to buy your silence?”

“That, and the beautiful sapphire necklace you wore yesterday.”

“Money-grubbing whore!” Mikasa said. “That was my grandmother’s!”

“I’ll just tell the Empress what I saw and earn my own place at her table.”

“Fine, fine! You have a deal. I’ll sit you at the table, so you can eat the nicest food and strain for a glimpse of a face you won’t see. You can eat with all the other simperers and flatterers, and see what _fun_ it is to attend the Empress’s dinner parties. You’ll fit right in!”

“Thank you, most darling cousin,” Levi said, patting her hand.

“You’ve got what you wanted. Get out of my face!”

Levi left, his heart pumping with excitement. People whispered as he walked by, but he didn’t care. He hoped Armin had the poison ready.

A hand clamped around his shoulder and whirled him around. Levi raised his fist, ready to strike, but instead stared at a harried and worn-out Councilor Grisha Jaeger.

“Lady Philosofia,” Councilor Jaeger said. “Forgive me for approaching you in such a base manner, but I must ask something of you.”

“What is it, my lord?” Levi asked evenly.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with my son, haven’t you? You must stop him!” Councilor Jaeger hissed.

“Stop him?”

“Yes! He won’t stop talking in French, and it’s driving us all insane! His mother doesn’t even want to see him because she can’t stand to hear it. His accent is terrible, my lady, and he’s not even fluent! He spent one summer in France. One! And now he thinks he’s the most cultured man in the world.”

“I’ll be sure to speak to him about it,” Levi said, “in English.”

The Councilor visibly relaxed. “Thank you, my lady. You are too kind to this old man.”

“You’ve always been a good friend to my patron, and that means something to me, as well,” Levi said, placing his hand on his back and gently steering him towards a bench. “Perhaps you’d like to sit down?”

“Ah, yes.” Councilor Jaeger sat down heavily and polished his glasses on his coat. “It’s very trying times, raising a son in this environment. I appreciate your making friends with him.”

“Eren has more to offer than his bad French,” Levi said.

“Indeed! I only hope someday he realizes that.” He sighed. “Sometimes, I think the best thing for him would be to get away from court.”

“Only sometimes, my lord?”

He laughed a little. Eren appeared at the end of the hallway, and confusion spread across his face when he saw his father and Levi together. “Thank you for your confidence, my lord,” Levi said. “I should be going.”

“My regards to Councilor Smith.”

Levi curtseyed and left, ignoring Eren’s call.

\- - - - -

Princess Mikasa left the Palace, saying she felt ill and needed the cure of a country breeze. Before leaving, she sent a gilded invitation to her cousin, begging her to take her place at the Empress’s illustrious dinner party. _To her royal highness, Princess Mikasa Ackerman, this cordial invitation is sent_ , it read. Next week, at six in the evening. Soon, it would all be over.

He found a letter sewn into his pillow that evening. _I’ve heard about your good fortune,_ Armin had written. _I’ll have it ready for you then_.

“You’re beautiful and brilliant, you know that, don’t you, Levi?” Eren told him after they’d spent themselves out from fucking. “I ordered a lovely dress for you to wear to this dinner party. You’ll look so stunning, the Empress herself worship at your feet.”

“Can it be ready in a week?” Levi mumbled.

“If it isn’t, I’ll hang the tailor myself,” Eren said. “Can you believe our good fortune? I still haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to say to the Empress. What do you think would be memorable?”

“A crass joke or something else profound.”

“You’re not helping, love. What should _I_ wear? Do you think my Parisian suit would work?”

“Don’t wear anything from France.”

“You’re right, you’re right. Perhaps I should have ordered something for myself?”

“Do you know who else is going to be there?” Levi asked, cutting across Eren’s rambles.

“The Grand Consort, assuredly. Uh, my father always chooses not to attend. He hates parties. I’m not sure who else. I guess we’ll see when we get there.”

“I guess,” Levi grumbled. “What will your friend do without you? She’ll be very lonely.”

“Levi, are you jealous?” Eren said, droll. He pressed kisses all along Levi’s cheeks and jaw. “I have to say, I find it very cute.”

Levi kicked him in the stomach, pushing him off the bed. “Get out of here. You’ve been here too long already.”

“Alright, alright.” Eren kissed him again, then dressed hastily, smiling. “Don’t look so gloomy, Levi. This dinner with the Empress will change everything for the both of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, he isn't wrong.
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *blows kisses to you* Thank you all for your response to last chapter! Are you ready for Eren and Levi to finally go to the party?

The dress Eren had made for him was truly beautiful. Off-white, with a high collar and shimmering, silver threading. Tiny diamonds had been sewn onto the bodice, in shining trails down the skirt. It was so soft Levi just wanted to stick his face in it. The sleeves were made of lace held together in the form of small, intricate flowers. It took him almost half an hour just to get into the dress, and another hour for his hair and makeup. In the end, he didn’t recognize himself in that beautiful dress. He looked like a noblewoman of the court. Not a lowly spy. Not Levi.

“You don’t know how lucky you are, Levi,” Erwin had told him before. “Attending one of these parties is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You must observe everything. Everything! And report back to me.”

Early in the morning, he met with Armin in their abandoned part of the garden. Armin presented him with a small vial, tiny enough to slip into his bodice or even his shoe. “I have more,” Armin said. “But I don’t think you’ll be able to carry more into the party undetected. This’ll have to be your only shot.”

Levi held the vial in his hands, wondering at how such a small dose could still be lethal. “It’ll do,” he said.

Armin squeezed his shoulder. “Best of luck, Levi. Whether we’re successful or not, I don’t know what will happen to us.” He gave a short, tight laugh. “We’ll probably be hanged!”

“We’ll be fine,” Levi said. Armin had been preparing to leave Mitras for days, and had a horse saddled and ready to go at a moment’s notice. He would ride to one of Erwin’s country homes, and Levi would meet him there as soon as he could. What they did next was a mystery. Most likely, they would have to leave the country. Assuming they both survived. “Take care, Armin.”

Armin nodded once, tense and grave.

\- - - - -

Once Levi was finally ready, he met Eren outside his rooms. Eren had decided on a simple black suit, saying that Levi should outshine him. “Oh, my,” Eren let out when he saw him. “You look stunning, my lady. Truly, the goddesses themselves cannot compare to you.”

“Thank you,” Levi said, taking Eren’s arm.

“I have to say, I’m rather pleased with myself,” Eren said. “I knew that dress would look beautiful on you, but you are truly a vision.”

“Did you really pick it out yourself?”

“Most of it. My friend Annie helped me.”

Suddenly, Levi didn’t like the dress half as much anymore.

The Empress wasn’t having the dinner party in her rooms in the very inner chambers of the Palace, but rather just outside the Palace grounds, in a private villa reserved for these types of high-scale parties. Eren and Levi took the Jaeger family carriage. Eren held onto Levi’s hand the entire time, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. Levi sensed his nervousness and pressed a tiny kiss to Eren’s jaw, hoping not to smudge his lipstick. Eren cracked a smile. “I really hope this goes well,” he murmured. “Remind me not to say anything in French tonight. I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

They seemed to be one of the last to arrive. Levi noted the Viandur’s carriage—an interesting choice for the Empress. Eren got out first and refused to allow the footman to help Levi out of the carriage, helping him himself. “You should wear diamonds more often,” Eren said, sounding like a fool in love.

The interior was extravagant, almost like a ball room with its high ceilings and lavish tapestries. Twin, winding staircases led up to a small outcropping with a door behind it. A long table sat in the center, with a massive chair intended for the Empress at the head. Servants with little glasses of wine and pastries darted around the room. Levi saw a few Councilors, including Zoe—Erwin would be furious to know they had been invited—another Princess from way up north, a few dukes and duchesses. The Viandurs were not present. Levi hovered in the doorway, gawking for a moment at all the splendor, unrivalled by anything he had ever seen. The vial, sewn into the seam of his sleeve, seemed weightier than ever. Eren placed a hand on the small of his back and gently pushed him further inside. “I’ll get you some wine,” he murmured in Levi’s ear. Levi didn’t think he could swallow anything.

Eren returned with a small flute. Levi held the glass between his fingers as Eren floated around, talking to all the different guests, smiling and laughing, while Levi struggle to come off as anything other than wooden. He missed all of the small talk. The bright, yellow candles seared a headache into his temples, the noisy monotone of chatter almost too much.

“Oh, we appreciate it,” he heard Eren say. “I picked the dress out myself, you know.”

_Focus_ , he told himself. How could he accomplish anything like this?

The room hushed. The door at the top of the steps opened, and the Grand Consort emerged, this time dressed in a suit of midnight blue. “The Empress of Many Masks!” she announced proudly, and stepped aside, falling into a bow.

They all imitated her. Levi dropped into a curtsey, staring at the woman who came through the door, letting it slam behind her. The Empress of Many Masks. She was dressed in splendid robes of dark purple, with a train that fell five feet behind her, and sleeves that trailed to the floor. Over her face, she wore the mask of a lion with a gold-gilded mane. Sharp blue eyes showed through the slits, sweeping over her subjects. “At ease,” she said, in a voice low and almost bored, wholly at odds with the voice Levi had heard from her before. “Be merry, my subjects. This is a time for celebration.”

The Empress descended the steps, using the Grand Consort’s arm. The Grand Consort was no more than a few inches from her, no matter where the Empress stepped. That would prove to be a problem. Levi swallowed, hard, clutching Eren’s arm as though a flighty noblewoman drunk after only a few sips. “Don’t be nervous, my lady,” Eren said, patting his hand.

The Empress stopped at the foot of the stairs, greeting her subjects eager to make a good impression. Eren was much the same and wanted to speak to her before the dinner began. “Wait,” Levi croaked before Eren entered the line of waiting subjects. Levi took another glass of wine from the servants. He glanced towards the stairs. The Empress’s attention was on her guests. Ymir still smiled softly at her. Carefully, with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, Levi worked the vial out of his sleeve. He held it pinched between his two fingers, between the folds of his sleeve.

“Could you hold this for a moment, please?” Levi asked Eren. Eren nodded and reached for the glass. Levi passed the glass from his left hand to his right, gripping the top as though making it easier for Eren to grasp the stem. In a split second, he squirted the poison into the glass. Eren took it from him. Levi pretended to adjust his earrings. The Empress and the Consort were still focused on the people in front of them. He took the glass back from Eren.

There. The hardest part was over. Levi tucked the vial back into his sleeve, feeling calmer than he had in weeks.

They reached the Empress. He and Eren dropped into another curtsey and bow, respectively, and waited for the Empress to speak first.

“Eren Jaeger, son of the Councilor, and Philosofia Ackerman, cousin of the Princess,” the Empress said, so low Levi hardly caught it. “A pleasure to have you both dine in my hall.”

“Thank you, your imperial majesty,” Eren said. “I offer my condolences that you must satisfy yourself with our inferior company over that of my fiancée’s.”

Ymir let out a short, “Ha!” The Empress might have been smiling, but Levi couldn’t tell behind the mask.

“We shall see whether your words have any truth to them, Lord Jaeger,” the Empress said.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Levi said, presenting the glass of wine with his head respectively bowed. “I noticed you hadn’t had any refreshment yet.”

“That is very kind, Lady Ackerman.” The Empress accepted the glass.

“Wait!” Ymir snatched it, then sniffed, practically sticking her nose into it.

“Ymir,” the Empress said, sounding more bored than ever. “Do you really think that Lady Ackerman would try to poison me? Here, of all places? Don’t insult her intelligence.”

As if to prove a point, the Empress downed the whole glass, then passed it off to a servant. Relief, almost crippling, settled over Levi. They bid their goodbyes, and the Empress moved onto the next person in line.

Armin said the poison took ten minutes to take effect if ingested orally. Ten minutes. He had ten minutes to flee.

“You did very well by offering her a drink,” Eren said approvingly. “She’ll remember that.”

“Thank you,” Levi murmured. “Eren, I think I’m going to step outside. I don’t feel very well.”

Eren eyed him with concern. “Do you need me to come with you?”

“I don’t think so. I’ll just be a moment. I need some fresh air.”

“Be well, my love,” Eren said, squeezing his hand before dropping it.

Levi hurried to the door, which had been left open to allow a breeze through. To his consternation, a guard stepped in front of him, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry, my lady, but I can’t let anyone through,” he said.

“Why’s that?” Levi snapped, knowing he could throw this guard if his skirts didn’t hinder him.

“Dinner will begin,” the guard said. “The Empress wants everyone seated.”

“Would you rather me throw up on your uniform?” Levi said.

“I’m sorry, my lady, but I’d rather not disobey our sovereign.”

Sweat built underneath his wig. Levi turned around and surveyed of the room, any possible escape routes. He had seven, maybe eight minutes now. “Didn’t you go?” Eren asked when Levi returned to him.

“The guard wouldn’t let me through, saying dinner will start soon,” Levi replied. He wrapped both his arms around Eren’s, pressing his chest into it and tilting his head up at Eren’s face. Eren swallowed. “Do you think you could say something to him for me, Eren, please?”

“Of course,” Eren assured him, extricating himself from Levi’s hold. Levi watched him go to the guard, then stepped to one of the windows. There had to be another entrance for the servants. Levi spotted it, hidden behind a curtain, by the staircase on the right. But what kind of excuse could he use to get himself over there? Was anyone watching him? He glanced around the room. No one seemed to have any eyes on him.

The Empress clapped her hands. “My most favored guests, I think it high time we start our meal,” she said. Levi detected a slight trembling to her hands. Eren was arguing with the guard.

Levi stepped closer to the Empress, at the head of the table. “Your imperial majesty,” he said, licking his lips. “I don’t think the Viandurs have arrived yet.”

The Empress turned her unsettling gaze on him. “The Viandurs? They aren’t coming. I borrowed their carriage. Thank you for your concern, Lady Ackerman.”

The Empress of Many Masks borrowed a carriage? Probably to offset dissenters like himself.

“Please be seated,” the Empress said, louder. Eren abandoned his fight with the guard.

“Sorry,” he mouthed as he and Levi slid into the seats chosen for them, towards the middle of the table. Everyone settled into their seats, exclaiming at the beautiful silverware and plates. Levi thought he might actually be sick. When the first course arrived, some kind of sauce, the exclamations doubled, everyone striving to be the biggest flatterer. Five minutes left.

“Before everyone partakes in this wonderfully prepared meal, there are some things I would like to say,” the Empress said. Levi realized she had yet to sit down. “Just a few notes of some consequence.”

Eren found his hand under the table and gripped it.

“One of you is a traitor, conspiring to murder your Empress,” she said calmly. “The Bookers weren’t the only ones and they won’t be the last. I’ve instructed my guards to not let anyone leave this room—and to kill anyone who attempts it—until someone confesses to the truth.”

The Grand Consort stared at him.

“Your imperial majesty!” one of the Councilors cried. “None of us would ever dare!”

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” the Empress replied. “I firmly believe that one of you is a traitor and I have this information on good confidence. Ymir?”

“I have the utmost faith in my Empress,” Ymir said.

They would figure it out when the Empress dropped dead in front of them. Two minutes. Levi squeezed Eren’s hand back.

“This is insane!” someone yelled out. “My Empress, what proof do you have?”

“Proof? I am your master. Why should I have to prove myself? _You_ are the ones who need to prove your loyalty to me.”

Several voices launched at once. Declarations of deeds done that showed they could never have betrayed their Empress; on the contrary, they supported her more than anyone else. Levi counted the seconds in his head.

Eren added his voice to theirs.

“Your Imperial Majesty, I’m not sure if my companion and I should be included in this, considering how we’re only here because Princess Mikasa fled to the countryside,” he said, quite calmly. “Unless you orchestrated that?”

“I regret that you must be involved,” the Empress said. “But you are here, so I will add you to my fold.”

“Very kind,” Eren said.

_Thirty, twenty nine, twenty eight, twenty seven . . ._

“I’m leaving!” the northern princess cried, knocking her chair back. “You can’t keep us here!”

“Is that an admission of guilt?” Ymir said, swirling her wine with a finger.

_Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen . . ._

“No—gods, no, I—I’m no traitor. I love the Empress!”

Several others echoed the same sentiment. Levi's hand grew damp in Eren's.

_Six, five, four, three . . ._

He waited.

The Empress swept her eyes over all of them, and he saw something wild and unrestrained in them. She loved this. She loved watching them all squirm. Levi waited.

She lifted her arm to brush a strand of blonde hair away from her eyes. The jewels on her throat glimmered. The tremor in her arm had disappeared. She was still standing, still breathing. The mask still held.

She should be dead. She should be dead. Armin had tested the draught on small creatures and it had consumed their entire bodies, _so why was she still standing?_

He clamped a hand over his mouth. Bile rose up in his throat and pushed against his hand. He doubled over the table and threw up into his plate. Most of the party started up.

“Well,” the Empress said. “I found you, Lady Ackerman.”

Levi coughed. Eren stood up, grabbed Levi around the waist, and threw him to the floor. “What—” Ymir said. Eren jumped up on top of the table and fully extended one arm towards the Empress. Levi scrambled backwards on his elbows. He glimpsed the fierce focus on Eren’s face, and then fire exploded from his arm, enveloping the room.

Levi threw up his arms, but the fire rushed past him, leaving him unharmed. He stared around himself in bewilderment, flames whirling past. Screams started up, but as far as he could see through the flames, other pockets had formed around other people. The flames died as swiftly as they had come, leaving smoldering wrecks of furniture and thick clouds of smoke. Levi hacked, clawing at his throat, eyes watering. A figure emerged from the smoke and knelt beside him. Eren.

“I hope you can forgive me, love,” Eren said. He grabbed Levi’s head, tilted it to the side, then bit down, hard, on his neck. Pain flared throughout Levi’s body. He thrashed and screamed. Eren let go, blood dribbling down his chin, and Levi collapsed, heaving. “It hurts right now, but this will save you later,” Eren told him. “I don’t want you hate me, Levi! You’re the only one who can save us, now. Remember yourself!” Eren gripped his chin tightly as Levi sobbed from the pain. “Don’t forget what brought you here.”

He let go. Levi flopped back on the ground, his muscles seizing. He felt something sliding through his veins, leaving behind a trail of fire, turning him into a writhing corpse. He didn’t have enough left of his mind to think about escaping. He turned over onto his side, soot settling onto his beautiful, off-white dress.

The screaming faded. Levi lay breathing in and out, the pain receding for a moment, then returning in full force, leaving him quaking and moaning.

“There she is.”

Someone gripped him under his arms, hauling him into a sitting position.

“Poor Philosofia Ackerman,” they whispered. A hand ghosted down the front of his dress, stopping just short of his lower stomach. Levi shook, unable to find enough energy to shake them off.

“Let’s get going,” another voice said. “I have what I came for.”

“I think she’s still awake,” the first whispered.

“How?” the second demanded. “Never mind. Knock her out.”

Levi’s head lolled back, and he glimpsed blue eyes behind a lion mask before losing consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you all for your response to last chapter!
> 
> This chapter is pretty short so I decided to post it early!

Someone threw him down onto a hard, cold surface. His head cracked against it. Levi winced, rolling over onto his side. Pain spasmed through his body. His limbs twitched and lashed out involuntarily. His wig had fallen off, and he had been stripped to his underclothes, Eren’s beautiful dress nowhere in sight.

Levi lurched up, before losing control of his limbs and crashing to the ground again. He was in a shadowed, vaulted room with tiny slits for windows in the ceiling. The walls and floors were gray stone, and there was absolutely nothing in the room. Levi shivered, teeth chattering against each other. Two red leather shoes stopped at the edge of his vision. Levi stared up at the Empress of Many Masks, gazing down at him coldly.

“He did something to him, I saw it,” a man’s voice said. Levi looked over at a burly blonde man wearing a palace guard’s uniform, leaning against the wall.

“Right here,” the Empress responded, kneeling beside Levi. Her voice seemed dangerously familiar. She touched two fingers to his neck and he hissed, striking out. She stepped away, avoiding the blow. “He bit him.”

“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” the man grunted.

“We’ll see shortly.” The Empress removed the mask. It clattered to the floor.

“You!” Levi exclaimed. Annie Leonhart looked at him. “You’re the Empress of Many Masks?”

“Sure,” she said. “Do you know where you are or what happened to you?”

He shook his head, grimacing at another wave of pain.

Annie placed a hand on his chest, holding him there. “You thought you could evade everyone else’s eyes and hide wherever you wanted to,” Annie said. “We’re aware of who you really are, Levi Ackerman. Your accomplice and your lover, Armin and Eren, they’re both in our custody. And you can expect them to lose their heads if you don’t comply with us.”

“What do you want?” Levi hissed.

Annie paced the room. The burly man kept his eyes on Levi, as though he were anything close to a threat in a condition like this. Levi managed to hold himself in a sitting position, watching Annie with narrowed eyes, his chest heaving.

“Didn’t you wonder why you could never hear Eren or Mikasa or Christa coming, or that they seemed to have such delicate, seductive voices? That they move so silently, that they can say a few words and enchant the whole room? You already suspected that Eren isn’t human. They’re _vampires_ and they run the court. They’re disgusting, bloodthirsty, inhuman fiends, and they all deserve to die.” Annie’s face had grown red from her ranting. Levi stayed silent. “Eren bit you in an effort to turn you into one of his own. That’s the pain you feel right now; the vampire blood mixing with your own, converting you.”

Levi felt his face drain of color. “Then what do you want?” he repeated. “Are you going to kill me for being a vampire?”

The man snorted. “No,” Annie said. “There’s still a few days until you turn fully. You’re a talented spy, Levi Ackerman. You made the mistake of turning against me. You’re going to be my spy, and perform a very specific task for me.”

“What’s that?” Levi whispered, muscles twitching again, licking his dry lips.

“They have a lair. These disgusting pigs. Every night of the full moon, when their power is the weakest, they retreat to it to feed. I want you to find it, or I’ll kill Armin and Eren, and leave the disease in your body, allowing you to turn into a vampire.” Annie crossed her arms. “We can still cure it, if you’re quick.”

Levi’s heart beat a frantic tempo in his ears. He remained silent. “Nothing to say?” the blond main said derisively, foot twitching as though he wanted to jab it into Levi’s ribs.

“You understand you don’t really have a choice,” Annie said.

“Yes,” Levi said. “I’ll spy for you.”

She cracked a small smile, which looked nothing less than terrifying on her face. “Good. Now get out of here.”

“I don’t even know where I am, and you stole my clothes,” Levi snapped.

“Your clothes were on _fire_. We saved your life. And you are underneath the Palace of Mitras itself, in its inner sanctum. There’s the door.” Annie pointed to it. “Go.”

“Annie, are you sure that’s a good idea?” the man asked. “There'll be a lot of questions asked if he emerges from the inner sanctum.”

Annie sighed. “Fine.” She touched the top of Levi’s head. A shock radiated from his skull throughout his entire body, and a film passed over his eyes. _Dammit_ , he thought before collapsing again.

\- - - - -

He awoke in his room. The pain had receded to the two bite marks in his neck, a dull throb. A servant stood over him. When Levi’s eyes fluttered open, she fell back with a shriek. “The mistress is awake!” she gasped. “The mistress is awake!”

Levi felt at his head. The wig was in place. He wore his nightclothes.

Erwin came into the room and sat at the edge of the bed. He handed Levi a glass of water. Levi pushed himself into a sitting position, downing it in one go. “How do you feel?” Erwin asked, cursory.

“Tired,” he mumbled.

“Do you know what happened? Supposedly it was a terrorist attack. Some sort of bomb. Lord Jaeger and Countess Viandur are missing. Miraculously, no one died.”

Levi didn’t respond.

“Levi? Do you know something about this?”

“No! Gods, Erwin, no.”

“What happened?” Erwin asked. “I know what the guards think happened, but I need to hear your account.”

Levi’s hands twisted in his lap. How much should he conceal? How much of the truth should he reveal? He didn’t doubt that the Empress—that Annie—had spies in his room. “Tell me how you found me first,” Levi said.

“You collapsed from the smoke along with all the other guests. You’re incredibly lucky to be alive. First you survive facelessness, and now this. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you fey.”

Levi couldn’t smile. “Everything went as it should have, initially. The Empress arrived with the Grand Consort. We had just sat down to dinner when I heard a scuffle. I didn’t have time to examine it, because that was when the bomb must have gone off.”

Erwin studied his face closely, but didn’t dispute his story.

“Gods,” Levi murmured. “It’s my fault Eren went to that stupid party.”

“Yes, it is,” Erwin said without any hardness. “You need to recover. Leave the investigation to the guards.”

Erwin left, telling him to sleep. Levi clutched the blankets and brought them to his face. To be reduced to this—he hadn’t felt so humiliated in years, not since Lady Nicole Magnolia had first put him into one of her daughter’s dresses.

That power Annie had used to knock him out proved she couldn’t be entirely human, either. What she could be, and what her vendetta against vampires could be, he couldn’t even pretend to understand. And if he didn’t produce something for her soon, he’d turn into a disgusting vampire himself.

 _Eren, why would you do this to me?_ he thought. The wounds throbbed again. His head hurt from cracking against the floor earlier. What kind of evidence did the Empress even want? How was he supposed to find the hidden lair of a bunch of vampires?

_It hurts now, but this will save you later._

What the fuck did that _mean_? Who the fuck did Eren think he was, speaking to him in code? Levi had practically given himself up to him, and this was his thanks.

 _Remember who you are_ , Eren had told him. He was Levi, the son of displaced nobles, bound to the northern corner of the country for crimes his parents had committed. He’d spent his days on the beach, listening in on his parents’ parties, never thinking that time could exist any other way.

But he was also Philosofia, who had lost her relatives to facelessness and come to the Palace as Councilor Smith’s ward. She was a spy, bred and raised to find information in the smallest spaces, in the most careful phrases; unnoticed, because she had nothing to recommend her save for her willingness to leave her door unlocked.

 _Don’t forget what brought you here_.

An image of his mother, the last time he had seen her. Her features worn away into nothingness, a limp hand dangling towards the floor.

Armin had told him once that they were going to kill the Empress of Many Masks.

Levi lowered the blanket from his face, blinking blearily at the familiar pieces of his chamber.

“Perhaps I don’t need you after all,” he whispered to the empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ten is pretty long and a bunch of shit happens in it, so I think I'm going to split it in half to spare your brains.
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends you probably noticed that I haven't updated in a while. After rereading the original ending to this fic, I decided I needed to rewrite it. There was too much that needed to be revealed in only two chapters, and I wasn't happy with the way that the ending played out.
> 
> !!!IMPORTANT!!!! BEFORE YOU CONTINUE: In the original text for chapter nine, Annie knocked Levi out via a "blisteringly cold" spell. I changed the blistering cold to a "shock." That may seem like a small change, but it'll make an important scene at the end of the story make more sense.

Levi napped for two hours. The pain had steadily faded, and he didn’t even notice it unless he happened to brush against his neck. Once he woke up, he searched the room from top to bottom, peering between the slats in the walls, out the window, anywhere a stranger might lurk. He couldn’t find anyone and concluded they must have left already.

How many times had he been tailed, while he thought he had been tailing someone else? How much had they seen, how much had they heard? He’d wanted to think he’d stayed unnoticed in the shadows as he always had, but it seemed that had never been true. All of Armin’s meticulous planning and the hours spent perfecting the potion had been so that the Empress could remind them exactly where they stood—underneath her heel.

Frustrated, Levi punched the bed post. It splintered under his hands. Levi watched incredulously as the wood crumbled to the ground, broken as easily as though he’d stuck his hand through cotton. Levi grabbed his wooden desk chair and sunk his fingers through it. The wood came off in curls. He hardly noticed his own labored breathing. If he wasn’t careful, with this kind of strength, he could slice right through someone’s bone with his own fingers. The restraint Eren must have had to prevent himself from snapping Levi in half every time they had sex baffled him.

As he turned, he would undoubtedly gain more powers. Levi gathered up the pieces of wood and shoved them under the bed, unable to think of a single suitable explanation for the ruined chair and bed post. Would he be able to cast fire like Eren? Move about silently?

First, he had something to retrieve. He returned to the secluded section of the garden where Armin had brewed his facelessness potion. He had told Levi where to find the other vials. Levi dug among the abundant weeds until he found the vials tucked within a squirrel carcass, a squirrel killed with facelessness. Armin had purposefully tainted the vials to prevent another from stealing them. Touching the vials would kill everyone but a fledgling vampire. Levi grabbed them and tucked them into his dress. Poor, too smart for his own good Armin. Levi could only hope that he was still alive.

Levi returned to his own rooms. Refusing to allow any of the servants entrance, he furiously wrote a letter at his desk. _You must tell me what you really are and what really happened at the Empress’s dinner party_ , was all he wrote, unsigned. He addressed the letter to Princess Mikasa and bade the nearest servant to deliver the letter with utmost speed.

He dressed hastily, hardly remembering that he was supposed to be a woman. He slapped his own cheeks, irritated with his lack of focus. That was what had gotten him into this predicament to begin with. He sat at the vanity, on the ruined chair, and painstakingly applied layers of powders and paints to his face, smoothing away his masculine jawline, hiding his bruised eye sockets, filling in his lips with a deep red, and coloring his eye lids with a shimmery gold. He slipped into a dark, almost black gown that made his pale skin luminescent. He studied himself in the mirror and was rather pleased with the attractive woman looking at him.

People gaped at him when he walked past. They probably thought that poor traumatized Philosofia would cower in her rooms for a few more days.

He didn’t care if anyone saw him march into the Councilor’s office. What did it matter? He was told that the Councilor didn’t just meet with anyone who demanded to. He shoved past them into the office, anyways. Councilor Jaeger looked up from some report, eyes red-rimmed behind his glasses. “It’s alright,” he dismissed the stammering servants. “Come in, Lady Philosofia.”

The door slammed behind him, leaving the two of them, for all appearances, alone. Levi smoothed out his dress as he sat down, taking in the Councilor’s office. A simple room, wood-paneled, with only a desk, a few bookshelves, and an extra chair and sofa. Levi didn’t doubt that someone listened to their conversation.

“I didn’t expect to see you out of bed so soon,” the Councilor said. “Are you recovering well, my lady?”

“Well enough. Have you heard anything about your son?”

The Councilor shook his head. He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, slumping in defeat. “Nothing. Not a word. Philosofia, you didn’t see anything, did you? Do you have any idea what happened to him? Eren and I aren’t as close as a father and son should be, but, still, since he was born we haven’t been separated for more than a day or two. You must understand my worry, Philosofia, even though you don’t have your own children.”

“I’m sorry, Councilor,” Levi said. “I don’t know where Lord Jaeger is.” He wondered, uncomfortably, where Annie kept him hidden, or if he even was alive at all. “But I do intend to find out. I need you to help me.”

The Councilor blew his nose. “What can I do for you?”

“Before Lord Jaeger disappeared, he did this.” Levi pushed back his hair and exposed his neck. Councilor Jaeger’s eyes widened.

“He turned you?” he said incredulously. “Gods! Eren, why would you do that?”

“He thought he was helping me,” Levi responded.

“Then he exposed himself to you?” Grisha shook his head. “Philosofia, wherever Eren has gone, this can’t be revealed. It would ruin him.”

“I don’t intend to tell anyone,” Levi said. “How did this happen? How did he become like this?”

Grisha’s lips thinned. It was obviously a story he didn’t want to tell, but Levi stared at him expectantly until he opened his mouth. “Vampirism is most often conferred through a bite, such as what happened with you,” he said, “but sometimes, one can be born a vampire. I met Carla, my wife, Eren’s mother, long ago, when I was still a young man. It’s not often that humans and vampires fall in love, but we did. She didn’t reveal to me she was a vampire until after our son was born, until it became more difficult to conceal her lack of aging to me. I was horrified at first, unsure of how this would change our son’s future. Carla has remained hidden from court for all these years because she never ages. She never gives off any heat and can move without anything hearing her. If she’s in the sun for extended periods, her skin burns. She can summon fire as Eren can.” Grisha leaned across the table to closely scrutinize the bite on Levi’s neck. “I’d guess you have less than two days before you turn completely,” he said gravely.

Grisha sank back into his chair. “Eren isn’t a full-blooded vampire. He can walk in the sun without any ill effects. He aged like a normal man, though now he will never look older than thirty. He can still turn humans with a bite. He threatened me that he would turn every single one of his fiancées because he didn’t want to marry them.” Grisha shook his head in disgust.

“That’s why he tried plots to get Mikasa away from him,” Levi said in sudden realization. “He couldn’t turn her, because she’s already a vampire.”

“I thought Mikasa might be a good match for him, because she’s the same as him, but I underestimated Eren’s love of being single. Or, perhaps, his affection for you. I’m sorry you became involved in all of this, Philosofia. What Eren did wasn’t right. I hope you can forgive him.”

Even now, Levi felt the disease in his veins, subtly transforming his body. “Did Eren have a place where he could act as a vampire without inhibitions?” Levi asked. “Somewhere he could be safe?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure of where it is. Eren didn’t want me to know. He was always loathe to discuss his nature with me, for fearing of disgusting me.”

“Is it possible that he could have gone there? Vampires are not easy creatures to kill.”

“It’s entirely possible.” Grisha’s face brightened. “He must be there. You’re right, Philosofia.”

Levi didn’t have the heart to tell him that Eren almost certainly wasn’t there. “May I have your permission to search Eren’s room? I might find something worthwhile there.”

“Yes, certainly.” Grisha produced a key ring from his desk and pulled one off to hand to Levi. “But I have to warn you, Philosofia—if you find Eren’s hideout, I don’t doubt other vampires will be there. They are not kind creatures, not even to their siblings.”

“How exactly do I fight a vampire?”

Grisha pressed his lips together, thinking. “In a physical contest, you would certainly lose,” he said eventually. “Fledging vampires are much weaker than fully developed ones. But there is a way outside of physical combat. You noticed Eren can use fire, correct?”

Levi nodded.

“Carla told me once that as vampirism develops, so does newfound magic, if the person wasn’t magical previously. Soon, you’ll be able to command one of the four elements.”

“I’ll be able to fight with magic?” Levi asked, dumbfounded at the idea.

“I would caution against leaping into a fight without testing your magic first,” Grisha said. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.”

Levi took the key. “Thank you, Councilor. You’ve been an invaluable help.”

“All I want is to see my son safe again.”

\- - - - -

Levi went to the library. He didn’t doubt that as soon as someone heard him ask for the key to Eren’s room, they would have rushed there, tearing it apart and looking for any available clues. No matter how he appeared to be adhering to the Empress’s plan, she wouldn’t fully trust him. Not when his cooperation was contingent on blackmail.

He pulled out book after book on vampires, how they turned, how they survived living among mortals, the best way to kill one. He bookmarked passages Annie would like to know he’d read, and skimmed over the ones that would raise her suspicion, and he learned a great many things. That a vampire often didn’t have any control over their own powers in the beginning. That they were primarily weak to fire magic, but could possess any of the elements. Before he never would have believed any of it. His fingers left no imprints on the pages. Less than two days.

He stayed in the library until it grew dark outside, lighting a few small candles to see. He felt a strange, unsettling hunger that couldn’t be abated by the meal he’d had a servant bring to him. His eyes burned from too much reading.

“Excuse me!” A guard stood by his table, both bored and irritated. “The library has closed. You must leave, miss.”

“No, it’s alright,” Levi soothed. “I’m allowed to be here.”

The guard’s eyes glazed over, his expression slipping into singular stupidity. “Who said that?” he asked, struggling to retain some amount of power.

“Tell you what,” Levi said. “You leave me alone and I’ll give you a kiss.”

Levi saw the fight leave his eyes the moment his words processed in the guard’s brain. He nodded energetically, as though a doll Levi had wound up himself. “Alright. I’ll be waiting over here, then, my lady.”

The guard made himself comfortable sitting on the ground, drawing his knees up to his armored chest like a massive child. Levi flipped through books for another hour, then concluded he’d stuffed as much information as he could inside his brain. It had grown late, past midnight. Still, he didn’t feel tired. He replaced the books as the guard watched him steadily. When he made to leave, the guard stood up and followed him for a time. “My kiss?” he said pathetically.

“How could I forget?” Levi intoned. The guard stooped down, smiling hopefully. Levi pressed his lips against the man’s dry ones for just a moment. Unbidden, ice bloomed from his lips and enveloped the man’s face. He let out a squeak of terror before his entire body was frozen. Levi took several steps back.

“Huh,” he said.

He touched the bookshelves as he walked, sending blooms of ice up the spines of books. He reached over his head and icicles dripped from the ceiling. Levi’s footsteps left behind slippery patches of black ice until he made a mental effort to stop. Snow swirled in the air between the shelves. Very interesting indeed.

\- - - - -

Safely in his own room, Levi took his time removing his gown and wig, and stripping off the makeup. He made sure to take off every last bit, scrubbing his face raw. He’d gotten so used to seeing himself as a woman, sometimes it could be alarming to see a man.

Then he cleaned the room. It had been too long since he’d cleaned it himself, and the servants didn’t do a good job, anyways. Any bit of water he touched turned ice-cold and made it harder to clean. It was past three in the morning when he fell asleep in the chair, not even bothering to make it to the bed.

When he woke, stiff and sore and ravenously hungry, the bell tower just outside the Palace chimed for ten o’clock. _Good_. He hadn’t slept so long in ages.

It was noon by the time he finally left his room, his hair and makeup and clothing done to perfection again. He meandered towards Eren’s room, stopping to greet the servants and other courtiers, remarking on the weather and their good fortune to live under the Empress’s blessing. He ran into Lola Zoe and spent a half an hour talking in the hallway, making plans to see each other regularly again. Lola offered her condolences for the unfortunate party. Yesterday at this time, he’d been in Councilor Jaeger’s office. _Less than a day_.

He was so hungry. He’d eaten two croissants, three oranges, and a kuchen for breakfast, but he was still hungry. He’d almost gotten to Eren’s room when he decided it was past noon, so he should eat lunch. He spent over an hour devouring everything the servants set in front of him; several small sandwiches the size of his palm, slices of cucumber and tomato and mozzarella drizzled with olive oil, half a watermelon, four pears, and entire loaf of bread soaked in the juices of the tomatoes. Still, he was hungry. He smelled something sweet—not a scent from the food—wherever he went, something he wanted to take a bite of and felt certain would stave off his hunger, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. When he finished eating, not stuffed or bloated in the slightest, he felt even more ravenous than before. “Excuse me,” he rasped to the servants, then ran outside to throw it all up.

He stumbled away from the servants exclaiming over him. What was it he had read about vampires and turning? He couldn’t remember. His mind had grown hazy. Eren. He needed to get to Eren’s room.

As he’d thought, the entire chamber had been ransacked. No one was in sight. Levi took in the open drawers, their contents tossed onto the floor, the bed torn apart, curtains slit, wood panels removed from the walls. Eren’s scent permeated the entire room. He collapsed onto Eren’s bed and moaned out loud. He’d never been able to smell so potently. He stuffed his face into Eren’s pillow, breathing in his scent. _I love you,_ he thought wildly. “I love you.” Let all his spies hear it. “I swear I’ll save you, Eren. I’m so sorry.”

His eyes drifted towards the desk. No one had appeared to move it, except to take the drawers out. Levi pushed the heavy wood desk away from the wall. His muscles should have been straining, but it was as easy as sinking his hand into clay. Chunks of the wood fell away from where he’d dug his nails in too hard. Levi took a step back, examining a small, metal divot in the wall. A keyhole.

He didn’t have the key, but he didn’t worry. He poked a finger through the hole, the metal easily giving away. He hooked his finger around the other side, and a section of the wall fell away seamlessly. Inside, Levi glimpsed several bound letters and clear bottles filled with a dark red liquid. The sweet scent from earlier redoubled.

This could very well have been deliberately placed here by Annie, false evidence to ensnare him. But the desk was incredibly heavy; a normal mortal would have had trouble moving it. Eren, as a vampire, of course, wouldn’t have any trouble at all shifting the desk away every time he needed to hide something.

He took the first letter from the bundle and opened it. It was written in a simple cypher, nothing like the one he and Isabel used. Ten minutes later, he had the paper translated; Eren’s initial letter, and a response on the other side.

_Our most darling spy—or should I say our Lion?—has arrived, as sour as ever. I am entirely certain that she knows we oppose her, and that she means to move against us. You have a plan that won’t involve harming my precious philosophe, yes? EJ_

On the other side, in a different hand was, _I am attentive to all details and you have nothing to worry about. HR_

What? Eren knew that Annie was against him? He suspected her? And who could be HR? If Eren knew Annie’s true intentions, why had he acted so blindly, so guilelessly—and why had he encouraged Levi to go to the party?

Frowning, Levi translated the next letter written in a similar cypher.

_I find myself lost for breath,_ Eren had written. _I can’t get his face out of my head. I don’t care what or who he is. I’m losing my mind. I can’t carry on like this. If any harm comes to him I won’t survive. Yours faithfully, EJ._

His respondent had answered, _You have a duty to stay focused. Continue your side, and everything will turn out as it should. Don’t worry if you’re in love. You and your philosophe can end up together in the end. HR._

Levi’s heart pounded. Could Annie have placed these letters here deliberately, to make it seem like Eren had feelings for him that weren’t really there? No, but he knew Eren’s hand very well. He had definitely penned this letter. Levi folded it up and placed it in his bodice. His head swam. Gods, he only hoped he had a chance to see again Eren when this was over.

Eren had dozens of letters, going as far as ten years ago. Levi didn’t bother to look over them all. There were other things, too. A strand of dark hair in a locket. A strip of silk the same color as the dress Levi had worn to the dinner party. Levi lifted one of the potions to study it. A small piece of paper, wedged between two bottles, fell to the floor. Retrieving it, Levi read: _to my darling, DRINK ME._

He hesitated. If he tried to drink it and any poison lurked in the bottle, he wouldn’t be able to stop it from running its course, but it smelled so sweet. He wanted to taste it, at least just a little. His stomach screamed at him. Abandoning all caution, Levi lifted the bottle to his lips.

“Wait!”

A hand clamped around his wrist and wrenched the bottle away from him. It smashed to the ground. Levi’s body seized violently, and he was struck with the urge to lap it up, the dark liquid running along the ground and staining the edges of his dress. A young man, short and petite like himself, breathing hard, stood in the center of the room. The spy who had been tailing him. The closet door lay open.

“What do you want?” Levi snapped. “Didn’t you place this here for me to find it?”

The boy’s eyes shifted to the side. Gray, like Levi’s own, with pale skin and dark hair. He really could be looking at a younger version of himself. “I was instructed to follow you.” He licked his lips. “You’re not supposed to drink that.”

“Why’s that?” An unnatural anger, close to full-blown rage, rose in him. “Are you going to stop me?”

He licked his lips again, visibly trembling. A spy, not a fighter. “Mistress Annie would be upset.”

He struggled to control his rage, to make sense of the situation. “I don’t think you shouldwaste a thought on Mistress Annie,” Levi said, making his voice low and soft, his words as honeyed as possible. “I think you want to sit back in the closet and let me carry on.”

The boy nodded hesitantly, his eyes glazing over. Then he shook himself, face in a determined cast, and Levi’s rage returned in full force. “No, I can’t let you drink that.”

“Do you know what I am?” Levi asked. “I’m a vampire and I can squash you easily.”

“I can’t disappoint Mistress Annie,” the boy said boldly. “Step away from the potions, or I’ll have to take action.”

Levi reached out with his hands and saw fear flash in the boy’s eyes. He grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. The boy’s feet kicked out. Levi flexed his fingers, and the boy gasped for air, face growing purple. This was the kind of power he’d been given. Eren’s thrusts inside of him, when they made love, should have broken him in half. His lips, kissing his flesh, should have sunk through. Levi pressed his thumbs into the boy’s neck until bruises blossomed. He let go, and the boy crumpled at his feet. “Don’t pretend that Mistress Annie will punish you better than I can,” Levi said. “Tell me, what do these letters mean?”

Levi waved the letters in the boy’s face. He clutched at his neck, staring at Levi with wide, frightened eyes.

“Why do you call Annie mistress and not imperial majesty?” Levi pressed when the boy did not respond.

He shook his head, wincing. “I can’t tell you that!”

“Then you can die.” Levi produced a vial, the contents within swirling in green and purple. From the look of sheer terror on the boy’s face, he knew exactly what it was.

“M-Mistress Annie is very practiced,” the boy stuttered, scrubbing his hands over his face, his eyes leaking tears.

“In what?”

“In-in masks.”

Levi’s eyes widened. “Do you mean in disguises?”

He let out an ugly sob. “I can’t betray Mistress Annie!” he sobbed, and though Levi heckled and threatened for ten more minutes, he did not give in. Snarling, Levi grabbed him by the hair and uncorked the vial. He shoved the vial through the boy’s lips, knocking out a tooth, before the boy had the opportunity to beg.

The poison took hold quickly. The spy screamed and thrashed, but within minutes, his skin flaked away. As he disintegrated, Levi dropped to his knees and lapped the blood off the floor, his hunger overwhelming him. He seized another bottle and downed the entire thing in one go, his heart pounding. The spy’s screams fell silent. He went through another two bottles before he finally felt stated. He slumped against the wall, trying to slow his breathing. The overpowering urges, the haziness in his mind had cleared.

The spy huddled still on the floor, his face nothing but an ashen gray mass. Strangely, Levi did not feel disgusted, with himself or the scene. He only felt empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update shouldn't take as long to come out!
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this chapter answers some questions I know y'all have!

When he had enough presence of mind, Levi left the room, mindful of the blood tainting the edges of his sleeves.

_Mistress Annie is very practiced in masks._

So are many people in this court, Levi reflected. Himself. Councilor Smith. Mikasa. Eren.

Someone out there must know the truth. About Annie and who she really was. Levi nodded at courtiers as he passed them, careful not to let his troubled thoughts show on his face.

Who was left, out of those who might know the truth? Eren and Countess Viandur were missing. Princess Mikasa hadn’t been allowed to return to court yet. Levi stopped cold, then pretended to fiddle with his jewelry as the reason for abruptly stopping. Grand Consort Ymir had been at the party, and as far as Levi knew, she hadn’t been harmed. She must still be within the Palace.

Levi hurriedly back to his room to change. He stripped off the makeup and the heavy gown, the wig, the dainty heels. In servant’s garb, he stole out the window and rubbed dirt over his face so the nobility wouldn’t look twice at him. Dressing as a servant ironically gave him more free range than dressing as Philosophia.

He was able to enter the royal apartments without too much fanfare, tending to the various plants in corners and in windows. He located, by eavesdropping, which apartments belonged to the Grand Consort.

“Is the Lady within?” Levi asked the two guards standing outside the door.

One sighed. “Do you have business with her?”

“May you ask your mistress if she would have her plants watered today?”

“And what name shall I give her?”

“Levi.”

The guard went within, and a few minutes later returned with a confused expression. “She orders you to come in,” he said.

Levi pushed past him and into the lavish apartment.

It didn’t all seem Ymir’s style. He supposed someone else decorated for her. She sat at a large, mahogany desk overflowing with papers, in her customary suit. A mural on the ceiling depicted the founding of their empire, as though any of them could ever forget.

Before acknowledging him, Ymir sent away everyone within the room. Levi sat on a white, embroidered loveseat before the desk, crossing his arms.

“I was wondering when you might visit me, Levi Ackerman,” Ymir said. She let out a huge sigh, as Levi’s presence had inconvenienced her mightily, and set aside her pen.

He realized he could smell Ymir and hear her breathing. She was a normal human being, not a vampire. Countess Viandur, that day he spied on them, must have known of his presence, and informed Ymir.

“Tell me the truth,” Levi demanded. “There’s no reason to hide anything from me. Is Annie Leonhart really the Empress of Many Masks?”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Ymir intoned. Her eyes didn’t leave the page of her report.

“I’m not here to play games with you, Ymir,” Levi said.

She glanced at him. “It is strange seeing you in male clothing. Is this how you prefer to dress, or do you like convincing the entire court that you have breasts?”

“That’s not what I’m here to discuss,” he said.

“You must wonder how long I knew,” Ymir said.

“I’m only interested in one facet of knowledge you possess,” Levi said. “Tell me about Annie Leonhart and tell me what really happened at the party.”

“It was all a blur.” Ymir picked up her pen and signed a document. “I don’t remember what happened after Eren Jaeger stupidly released that fire spell.”

Levi stood up and slammed his hands on Ymir’s desk. His hands sunk right through, splintering two large holes, while everything atop the desk shuddered. Ymir finally fixed her gaze on him. Her thin eyebrows were lifted.

“You need to tell me exactly what’s going on,” Levi said.

“I don’t _need_ to do anything,” Ymir said, though her tone oddly held a bit of thoughtfulness.

Levi sat down, taking a chunk of the desk with him. He threw it on the floor. Ymir watched the movement, her entire body still.

“It doesn’t bother you that your most darling Christa is in danger?” he asked.

Ymir snorted. “Christa’s not in danger from anyone.”

“Not even from Annie Leonhart?”

Ymir did not answer.

“You treated her as the Empress at the party,” Levi pressed. “You’re not a vampire, so maybe you really were deceived. But I don’t think you were. I think you knew exactly what Annie meant to do and I think you chose to let her play.”

Ymir leaned back in her chair, letting out an exhale. “I know who the Empress is,” she admitted.

Levi stayed silent, letting her work through her thoughts.

“The Empress is an extremely secretive woman,” Ymir continued. “She does not want to risk anyone seeing her real face, hearing her real voice, even smelling the natural scent of her body.”

Levi frowned.

“There are very few occasions where the Empress would actually reveal herself to her people,” Ymir said. “Situations of great danger, where her power is required to subdue a threat, or the converse, a situation of great joy. The winning of a war, perhaps. Dinner parties with a few nobles are not one of them. The Empress does not attend regular functions.”

“She uses a body-double?” Levi guessed.

Ymir nodded. “Yes. As I said, she is extremely secretive.”

_A mask within a mask_. “So she lets us think that we’re seeing the real Empress, when in actuality she’s far away,” Levi said.

Ymir took a sip of wine.

“How are these body-doubles selected?” Levi asked. “The process must involve seeing the Empress’s face, because they all must look like her.”

Ymir shook her head. “No, they all must look like each other. No one knows the real Empress’s face. So it is not necessary that they look like _her_.”

Then who was the woman he’d seen ransacking Mikasa’s chambers? Another body-double?

“I am not privy to all the details, Levi Ackerman.”

Ymir, the Grand Consort, possibly the only person who knew the Empress’s appearance, didn’t even know all the details of a security measure so important?

“Then,” Levi said, “is it possible that someone could pretend to be a body-double without your knowledge?”

Ymir’s lips thinned and she rang a bell on her desk. The two guards entered.

“I think the seeds have been well watered,” Ymir said. “It’s time for my gardener to leave.”

Levi did not resist, knowing the stupidity of starting a brawl in Ymir’s chambers. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you around here before,” one of the guards commented as they showed Levi out.

Levi did not answer. He was thinking. It all began to make sense.

\- - - - -

Levi laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Annie Leonhart was not the Empress of Many Masks.

A body-double. A fake. A mask.

And what was she really? Levi wondered. Was everything Eren had told him about Annie’s past true—daughter of a banished, lowly noble? A woman who had placed herself in danger to kill vampires?

Not that he’d been much different, Levi thought sardonically; he’d hoped to kill the Empress of Many Masks out of a sense of petty revenge.

On further consideration, Annie’s reasons for impersonating the Empress didn’t seem so petty. Her intention was to remove the vampires infiltrating the Mitras court. Who knew how many of them there were, or for how long they had fed on innocents? A horrible thought occurred to Levi. Vampires were immune from the effects of facelessness. Could they have created such a terrible disease, set it loose on the countryside, and feasted on the bodies of the deceased? Levi didn’t recall what had happened to the bodies of the Booker family.

Shaking aside disturbing thoughts he had no control over, Levi considered that if facelessness was manmade as Armin thought, and vampires ran the court as Annie thought—then, logically, he must assume that the Empress of Many Masks was a vampire herself.

In that case, he and Annie should have been on the same side. They both wanted the same person dead, albeit for widely different reasons. Something twisted them into enemies. Something related to Eren? Levi mused. Aside from their mutual hatred of the Empress, Eren was the main connection between himself and Annie. Could Eren have purposefully kept he and Annie away from each other, kept them from discussing their plans?

Whether Eren was involved or not, Annie had decided to oppose Levi, thus placing him in this situation.

A servant knocked on his door. “Lady Philosophia?” she asked. “There’s a letter for you.”

Levi remembered the letter he’d sent to Mikasa yesterday. “Come in,” he called, straightening up on the bed and running his fingers through the wig.

The servant entered, head bent respectfully.

“Who is the letter from?” Levi asked.

“It does not say, my lady,” the servant said, frowning slightly. “There is only your address.”

Levi accepted the letter and dismissed her. Levi recognized Mikasa’s handwriting on the envelope. She must be close by, not within her estate far to the south; otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to answer so quickly. He tore it open with a fingernail.

It contained only a single line in a small hand.

_It is not fair what she is doing to you, but I cannot interfere and I cannot defy her._

Her?

The Empress?

Levi crumpled the letter in his fingers, cursing Mikasa’s reticence. Ymir, too—both of them were so willing to shield the Empress, though obvious it may be that they didn’t agree with all of her policies. Now, he had to ask himself what the Empress was doing to him that wasn’t fair. Not Annie. The Empress herself.

Levi examined himself quickly in the mirror before leaving the room, still holding the letter. “I’m going for a walk,” he said to his servants, and refused to let any of them accompany him.

The summer heat choked the corridors, like greenhouses with their wide windows. The _clack_ of Levi’s small heels reverberated off the ceiling.

If Ymir suspected Annie, then of course the Empress did, too.

“Lady Philosophia?” someone said to him. “You look very pale.”

Dozens of sweet scents flooded his nostrils, reminding him how long it had been since he last ate.

“I’m fine,” he murmured, and moved on.

The Lion Eren had mentioned in his letter, dated from weeks ago. Eren had known for weeks Annie was a threat. The Empress did, too. But she let Annie carry on with her ridiculous plan—let Levi carry on with _his_ ridiculous plan. Why? To toy with him? For some greater goal he couldn’t imagine?

He stopped in a deserted parlor. Trays with cookie crumbs lay on the coffee table. An open book sat atop an end table, pages fluttering. Needlework had been set aside on the couch, as though the occupants had left the room mere moments before Levi came across it.

He sat on the couch, skirts billowing around him. If Eren knew about Annie—if he had been regularly corresponding with the Empress—if he was in her confidence—no, he didn’t want to think that way, but he must.

He must consider that he and Armin had been manipulated the entire time.

For Annie wouldn’t have exposed herself to him if she had something concrete on Eren and the other vampires. She had nothing to gain from revealing herself to him, nothing to gain from showing her face. That had allowed him to piece things together, to get closer to the truth. She was desperate. Her plans to eliminate the vampires failed—Mikasa avoided attending the party and Eren’s magic had saved him. So she turned to Levi and thought she could intimidate him into helping her, that she could horrify him into submission by telling him of the ticking countdown until he transformed fully into a vampire. Instead, she had given him a reason to turn against her.

In a few minutes, he had returned to Eren’s ruined bedroom. Eren’s scent still hung in the air. The body of the spy he’d killed had been removed. Those same wild words floated through his mind. _I love you, I love you_.

The day passed into evening. Levi used to admire how the long streaks of golden evening light would fall into the room and accentuate the blonde highlights in Eren’s beautiful hair.

He had been a fool, but no longer.

He sat down at Eren’s desk, taking a sheet of paper and a quill pen. He spent some time painstakingly memorizing Eren’s handwriting, the way the letters rushed together, the flourish which with he signed his name. Outside the stillness of the room, he could hear everything. The breathing of the servants rushing by, the wind pushing against the windows, a heart pumping, feet squeaking against the floor, the rats scurrying between the walls. It occurred to him, then, that every time he’d spied on Eren, Eren heard him.

He’d always been unnoticed by other humans, but now—Levi bent over the desk, frowning as a word came out too similar to his own handwriting. Vampires fed on human blood to survive. They moved silently and possessed incredible strength. And when one turned fully into a vampire, their magical powers awakened.

Levi finished the letter, sealed it, and placed it in the hole in the wall. Then he laid down on Eren’s bed, closing his eyes. Let the night come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought!
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your response to last chapter!

When he awoke, a figure stood over him. “I don’t appreciate the murder of my subordinates or the freezing of my guards,” Annie said.

He blinked, rubbed his eyes, yawned. “You’re very nearly out of time,” she continued. “Do you want to be a vampire?”

She looked like she wanted to kill him. Levi slid off the bed and opened the hidden hole in the wall. “Here,” he said. “Eren left this letter.”

Annie took it. “It’s in cypher,” she said irritably.

“Yeah, so? It’s not that hard to figure out. This is my translation.” Levi tapped a paper he’d left out on the desk. “Eren hoped he could kill you. He was sick of catering to you—as the rest of us are—and trying to get enough favor to save him from his marriage to Mikasa. He wanted to take things into his own hands. But if the plan failed, he would retreat to where you wouldn’t think to look for him. His own estate, just outside the walls.”

The paper crumpled in Annie’s hands. “Eren thought he could set me on fire?” she hissed. “Take off that stupid dress and get into riding clothes. We’re going to the Jaeger estate.”

“I rather prefer wearing the dress.”

“Fine, you imbecile! Come with me.”

Annie tramped across the halls. The fury on her face that led everyone to leave her alone, even though her plain dress didn’t denote any rank. Levi followed behind, smiling at anyone who glanced at him. At the stables, Annie ordered two horses saddled, and the hands rushed to obey her, fearful of the stern cast of her features. “Just the two of us, your imperial majesty?” Levi asked loudly. She gave him a glare to freeze fire.

“My companions will follow us,” she hissed. “So don’t try anything, you piece of shit.”

A stable hand led Levi’s horse over to him. He stroked the beast’s nose, feeling how it trembled, as though it knew a predator stood in front it. “I’ll be a good girl, I promise,” he said, making his tone as indolent as he could.

He sensed she wanted to gnash her teeth at him, like the creature she was instead of a human being. Annie swung herself up onto her horse and galloped for the main gate without waiting for him. Levi followed suit. The horse grew skittish under his care, and he stroked its mane, murmuring to it in the soothing way he’d spoken to the guard and the spy, and it calmed.

It was evening now. In an hour, the sun would set. The golden rays spilling across the sky prickled at Levi’s skin, and he lifted his hands from the reins every few minutes to scratch at the exposed parts of his arms and neck. Annie rode ahead of him at a constant, ceaseless pace, her plain, gray robe fluttering backwards in the wind. They rode through a small wood, made more shadowed by the fading sun, but soon enough the wood would fall away to plains and the small hamlets that made up most of the middle regions of the country. Tiny farming communities with lives and cares wholly unconnected to the Court. Levi realized then that no one here would care about the life of a lowly courtier loved by the son of a Councilor; that no one here knew his name or would look twice at him in his dirtied dress. The thought comforted him, somehow.

They reached the Jaeger estate just as night fell. Levi slid off his horse. “Here it is,” Annie said. A mansion with dozens of glittering windows that reflected the moon in straight lines. Strange statues of nymphs and naiads lined the cobblestone walkway to the front door. Stark white columns held up the wrap-around balcony. At this hour, nobody was about.

Levi clutched the mane of his horse, suddenly woozy. The feeling passed in a second, and in its place, something like slipping his head underwater; awash in the calm of a gentle wave, as though everything had settled into place and everything was where it was meant to be. He felt more at peace than he ever felt in his whole life; more than resting in Eren’s arms, more than reclining under an oak tree with Isabel, sucking on candies and telling each other how the future would change when they grew up. He no longer felt poison sliding through his veins. In its place, ice. His hands smoked, like breathing out into the cold air. He quickly stuffed them down the sleeves of his cloak. Annie didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Well?” she snapped. “Where is he?”

“Inside,” Levi murmured. As far as he knew, no one currently lived at the manor except for a few servants tasked with its maintenance. He hoped they wouldn’t have to become involved.

They tied their horses to a tree. Levi pried the front door open easily enough, the lock crumbling underneath his fingers. They stepped inside a large antechamber, more of those statues staring at them. Large windows near the ceiling let in tons of light during the day, but the little moonlight coming through didn’t illuminate much. Still, Levi could see just fine; sharper, even, that he could see during the day. Annie stumbled over the train of her dress in the dark and cursed. “Need my arm?” Levi asked.

“What are you, stupid?”

“A lady shouldn’t walk around in the dark by herself,” Levi drawled. “You should be escorted by a gentleman, at least.”

Annie snorted. “Shut up before I leave you for dead here. Now, where is he?”

“Below,” Levi said. “He’ll have wanted to get away from all these windows.”

Annie proceeded towards the end of the hall, and Levi waited for her to catch her mistake. “Your imperial majesty, don’t you realize what you asked me?” he asked impatiently when she failed to say anything. “You asked me where ‘he’ was. Do you really have Eren in custody?”

“You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?” she responded, kicking open a nondescript door lurking beneath the shadows. It revealed a set of stairs leading downwards.

“This is it,” Levi said.

“This is the servants’ exit to their quarters,” Annie said. “Do you really think vampires would willingly place themselves there?”

Levi shrugged. “That’s what the letter said.”

Muttering curses, Annie stomped down the stairs. Levi could feel her magic churning underneath her skin in anger.

They emerged into a sizeable room with several offshooting hallways. It contained a few shelves, some cooking pots, a long dining table, and a fireplace. “Well?” Annie said.

“Give me a moment,” Levi murmured. Maybe here would do. No, it had too many exits. Ice would run off into the hallways, and it would be hard to fill the room.

A shrieking, grinding sound, like stones rubbing against each other, filled the air. Levi clamped his hands over his ears while Annie merely looked startled. “What the hell is that?” she hissed.

The fireplace moved away from the wall, sinking into the ground. A cool breeze wafted from a gaping hole. “This is it,” he managed to say, baffled.

Annie strode forward, kicking aside a pot and stepping into the tunnel without so much as a candle. Levi didn’t need a candle to see. Annie groped along the wall, stumbling over the uneven path, still cursing under her breath. “It’s further down,” Levi said, voice soft. “Just a little further.”

“I don’t need you trying that on _me_ ,” Annie hissed.

The tunnel opened out into a wide cavern. A throne room. At the other end of the room sat an ebony throne on a dais, flanked by two lit torches, casting feeble rays of light into the gloom. A tapestry, depicting a sun on a crimson background, hung behind the throne. The waters of a pool in the center of the room glimmered under the torchlight. “What is this place?” he asked, almost reverently.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Annie said. “This is where these abominable creatures hold court.”

She stepped forward. Levi knocked her into the pool. Water splashed over the edges from the force of her crash. Annie sputtered. Levi knelt at the edge of the pool, his skin threatening to peel off from the magic building within his body. “I’m not really sure what you are or what you want,” he said, “but you made a mistake when you held court with me.”

Annie’s eyes widened.

“Goodbye,” Levi said. He flung all of his magic from his body. Air snapped around him and screamed.

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” Annie yelled. “This isn’t what you want!” The water rose up above her head. Levi squeezed his eyes shut. The temperature dropped to almost nothing, ice skittering across his exposed forearms. The air rushed even tighter around him, howling, drowning out Annie’s frantic yelling.

In another moment, the room had grown still. The temperature lifted from freezing. He opened his eyes. Annie floated in a pool of ice, her hair floating around her face, her expression twisted perpetually into one of fear and loathing.

He collapsed, panting. Using that much magic, without any training, had taken so much out of him that he could hardly move his own limbs. He tilted his head towards the ceiling and blinked back stars. “She’s dead,” he murmured. Finally dead. It was over.

Hands gripped his cheeks. Levi tensed, but lips followed, brushing down his hairline. He grasped for those hands, even as dizziness gripped him. “Eren?” he gasped.

“You did wonderfully, my love,” Eren said, looking as whole and healthy as he always did. His eyes glowed. “Thank you, Levi, thank you.” He kissed Levi, softly and tenderly.

“Eren,” Levi repeated. “Why are you here? What’s going on?”

“My love,” Eren said, “welcome to the Court of Many Masks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left :')
> 
> [tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end :')

Eren carried him upstairs, through the tunnel, stopping every few moments to press kisses to his forehead. He didn’t explain what was happening, no matter what Levi said. Levi clutched at his jacket and tried to keep conscious. Eren smelled overwhelmingly sweet, but not like a human; like a flower or a burning candle.

“Won’t you tell me anything?” Levi said, pushing Eren’s face away when he went to kiss him again. “You’re a vampire. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Eren snorted, lighting a candle in the servants’ kitchen without letting go of Levi. “I couldn’t tell you. I didn’t know how you would react. All my fiancées—all I had to do to break the engagement was simply tell them of my nature. They all ran off. Well, except for Sasha. She asked me to turn her.”

_Sasha?_ “What do you mean?” Levi asked, but Eren just shook his head and smiled.

He kept carrying Levi through the main entryway, up the stairs. “Annie said she kidnapped you,” Levi pressed, “and Armin, too. Where is Armin?”

Eren kicked open the first door at the top of the stairs, revealing a large sitting room, complete with plush chairs outfitted in ebony and dark green. They hadn’t drawn the curtains, letting the moonlight stream in through the windows. Eren gently set Levi on his feet, smoothing his hands over Levi’s hair. The Countess Viandur sat in a chair by the window, the Grand Consort standing over her. In a loveseat, Princess Mikasa and her friend Sasha talked quietly to each other. Armin huddled in a corner, looking quite distressed.

“It’s over,” Eren announced.

The Countess gripped the edges of the chair, pushing herself to her feet. She wore a long, crimson robe—one that Levi recognized. “Do you need a hand, your imperial majesty?” Ymir asked.

“Ymir, you can stop with the titles when we’re not in public,” the Countess said, rolling her eyes.

“I can’t help it. I know you like to hear them.”

“What—” Levi began. Eren took him by the hand.

“Perhaps you’d like to sit down,” he said, guiding Levi onto a couch.

“Levi,” Christa called, holding Ymir’s arm. “You’ve done me a great service today. Thank you.”

“Is someone going to tell me what’s happening?” Levi snapped. He swept his eyes over Mikasa and Sasha. Sasha gave him an apologetic glance, but Mikasa stared back, boredom on her face.

“I’m sorry, love,” Eren said, seating himself next to Levi. “We couldn’t say anything. Otherwise we would have told you.”

“ _I_ am the Empress of Many Masks,” the Countess said. “My real name is Historia Reiss, and my family took control of the country years ago, when we had been gifted with vampire blood.”

“You’re all vampires,” Levi said. He twisted around to look at Armin.

“Not me,” Armin said.

“We’ve been trying to take down Annie for years,” Historia Reiss said. “I thought that you might lead her here. I didn’t think that you would kill her yourself.”

Levi opened his mouth, but Historia continued, “Annie was a vampire hunter. She could have exposed my entire family and toppled our regime. Like you were trying to do.” She smiled.

“Why did you allow Annie to take your place?” Levi asked. “Why let her pretend to be Empress?”

“Because she thought that the Empress of Many Masks didn’t actually exist, and was a cover to protect my family. She saw it as an opportunity to use you for her own doing, knowing that you would try to kill her. She used you to draw out the vampires she’d been hunting. And it did work. Only, she didn’t anticipate being killed herself. Oh, and you would have really killed her with facelessness if she’d only been mortal She was half-fey herself.”

“But you’re vampires!” Levi said. “Why would you ever need _me_ to do anything? Couldn’t you have stopped her yourself?”

Historia shrugged. “This way, I didn’t have to risk exposing myself. I let you run ragged around court, knowing that your activities—which you were gently pushed into by Eren’s marvelous acting—would draw Annie out. That she wouldn’t be able to resist. You understand that you never would have been able to kill me, Levi.”

“So you all duped me,” Levi said. “All of this, an elaborate fabrication. The engagement, too, wasn’t it? Making yourself a viable target that I would definitely choose?” Levi cast an accusing glance at Eren, who didn’t even flinch. “The party, the murder, everything?”

“Don’t look at me,” Armin said. “I was duped, too.”

“That man I supposedly murdered was a vampire himself,” Mikasa said, waving a fan at her face. “I did try to give you an out, Levi. You remember when I told you to marry Eren. But you didn’t accept. So don’t accuse me. _I_ didn’t do you a great disservice. Not like Eren and Historia did.”

“Mikasa,” Eren warned.

“All this for what?” he seethed, glaring at Eren. “To keep your power intact, to keep your true natures hidden?”

“Of course,” Historia said. “Why else would we have done this?”

He stood up, angry and disgusted with himself. “Sit down, Levi,” Eren said, tugging at his sleeve. “Let’s be reasonable.”

“What about the Bookers?” Levi asked. “Why did they die?”

“They were Annie’s accomplices,” Historia shrugged. “Eren and Mikasa’s display helped give me a public reason to put them down.”

“And the children?” Levi asked savagely. “Did they deserve to be put down?”

“Sacrifices had to be made,” Historia responded.

“You disgust me,” Levi said. “I don’t want to be in your service.”

Historia lifted an eyebrow. “What choice do you think you have?”

“Historia,” Eren said.

“Let him walk,” Mikasa said. “Who cares what happens to him now?”

“Mikasa, don’t be rude,” Sasha chided.

“Did you forget what we discussed, Historia?” Eren prodded.

“No, I didn’t,” she said. “Levi, listen to me. You’re a very dangerous and very skilled spy. You’re an outstanding threat to my court, one that I appreciate deeply. Unwittingly though it was, you’ve done a great service for myself and my family, and I won’t forget it. I’m raising you to the same status as Mikasa, and she’s indicated her willingness to grant you some land within her holdings.”

“Don’t take it as a sign of friendship,” Mikasa interjected.

“The land contains a castle which would be your home,” Historia said. “Mikasa told me it overlooks the ocean. I’m sorry, Levi, but you understand that a threat like you can’t remain at court.”

“You’re exiling me?”

“Yes, but I’m providing you with comfortable arrangements and a means of living wealthily. You won’t want for anything. Armin is coming, too.” Historia nodded towards him. “I can’t have him brewing any more potions at court.”

“Ha,” Armin said weakly.

“Levi,” Eren said gently. “Historia said that we could marry. If you wanted.”

“You want to marry me?” Levi said, dumbstruck. “You never want to get married. Not to mention, I’m extremely angry with you.”

“Ah, well, I hoped that you could forgive me.”

“Can’t you propose somewhere else?” Ymir said. “You’re making me sick.”

“Fine,” Levi said.

“Alright?” Eren drew back a little, eyebrows furrowing. “That’s—that’s all you want to say?”

“Don’t fucking push it, Eren. I meant we should speak privately.”

Eren laughed, throaty and warm, and the sound filled Levi, settling in his chest like a cat. “I do want this, Levi. I promise. Historia said we could travel abroad. We could honeymoon in France.” His eyes grew big like saucers.

“I don’t think so.”

Eren smiled, tucking his hands underneath Levi and sweeping him into his arms. “We’ll be back,” he told everyone in the room, stepping outside.

He carried Levi out into the night air, cool against their faces, the moon a silver beacon surrounded by millions of stars. “I really do hope you can forgive me, love,” Eren murmured. “You have no idea how angry Historia was when she found out that I’d turned you. The party was supposed to be the end of it. Annie drew herself out sufficiently that we could have finished it all right there. But I had grown too attached to you. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you because of Historia’s callousness, knowing you had been used. I’d fallen in love with you.”

Levi punched Eren in the face. Eren gasped and dropped him. “How dare you?” Levi hissed. “You think that if you say you love me, I’ll forgive what you did to me? You used me!”

Eren held his cheek, wincing. “If I wasn’t a vampire, you would have smashed my face into pieces,” he said.

“Good!”

Levi kicked Eren in the side. “You tricked me! You made all I did count for nothing! You made me protect a bunch of bloodsuckers!”

“You’re part of us, too, now, or did you forget?” Eren looked out of humor with Levi. “Besides, Historia’s banishments are never perpetual. Give it some time, and darling Philosofia will be back at court again, as young as she ever was.”

“I don’t care about that, Eren,” Levi said. “You betrayed me.”

Filled with rage and loathing at himself, at his own stupidity, Levi stalked off deeper into the wood. Night calls of birds went silent at his approach, but he didn’t notice, hacking through low-hanging branches and bushes, a ball of seething fury growing larger and louder in his chest with every step he took away from the manor. Levi settled himself on a bench underneath a willow tree, chest heaving, his entire body trembling. He wanted to scream and rip himself into pieces and sob bitterly.

Eren’s strong arms wrapped around him. “Levi,” he murmured.

“Don’t touch me,” Levi said, though he didn’t move to push Eren off.

Eren sighed, moving away. He sat himself beside Levi on the bench. “I’m sorry, Levi. Initially, everything I did was out of selfishness. But over time, I really did grow to care for you and want to protect you.” He huffed. “You should have seen Historia’s face when she heard that I’d set her pavilion on fire.”

“That doesn’t show for anything,” Levi answered.

“I know. I know I can’t make this up to you. I know I changed your entire life without your permission.” He squeezed Levi’s hand. “But I can’t undo what occurred, so perhaps, we could try to move forward, with the way things are now?”

Levi slumped. “I’m going to be angry with you for a very long time,” he said.

“I know,” Eren said again.

Levi loped his arms around Eren’s neck, pressing his face into his neck, sighing. He felt the first stirrings of a faint hunger. He wondered what Eren could show him about what it meant to be a vampire.

Eren gently pulled the wig off and let it fall to the ground. He brushed a hand through Levi’s hair, staring at him with an expression so open that Levi squeezed his eyes shut.

“Do you love me?” Eren asked. He kissed over Levi’s face.

“Yes,” Levi murmured.

“I love you, Levi.”

He could hear and see and smell everything, despite the thickening of darkness in the air, twilight fading into nighttime. He could smell the faintest hint of blood on Eren’s breath, the soft, moist earth underneath them, heard the crickets settling in the grasses and birds arranging themselves in their nests. The stillness in Eren’s chest, the hard firmness of his arms and shoulders, his cool skin underneath Levi’s forehead. When Eren touched him, it sent a path of fire burning down his skin; nothing like the fire that could kill a vampire, but warm, slow, and smoldering, the beginnings of a climax.

“Is this what it’s like?” Levi wondered, as Eren pulled his dress over his head and laid Levi carefully down on the bench.

Eren hummed in response, kissing Levi’s bare chest. The cool night air might have made him shiver if he was still human. Levi twitched and moaned when Eren sucked lightly on one of his nipples.

“What, Levi?” Eren asked, moving down Levi’s torso to his navel. “What what’s like?”

“Having sex as a vampire,” Levi said.

Eren just smiled. The hard outline of his cock strained through his pants and Levi exhaled, a jolt of pleasure running through him at the thought of being able to spend every day like this with Eren. No more climbing through windows, avoiding servants. No more hurrying out before dawn so gossip wouldn’t spread. No more wigs. No more masks.

“Isn’t this just what you wanted?” Eren asked. He paused, right above Levi’s crotch, and Levi panted, thrusting his hips in Eren’s direction.

“Eren, don’t tease me,” Levi said.

Eren hummed and finally put his mouth on him. Levi twisted his fingers in Eren’s hair, chest heaving, staring at the first twinkling stars to appear in the purpling sky.

_I am so in love_ , he thought, stupidly.

What did Eren mean? What did he want anymore? Eren pulled away from him, panting softly himself, and pulled his cock out of his pants. He rubbed it against Levi’s opening, groaning, without actually putting it inside. Levi watched with wide eyes, biting his knuckles, feeling as though he might burst. He’d only wanted the chance to live away from court, to live as himself. He laughed, startling Eren, even as tears formed in his eyes. He bit down on his lip, trying to force himself to focus on the slight burn of Eren’s fingers inside of him. Eren was right. He did get just want he wanted.

“Levi, look at me,” Eren murmured. He was so beautiful. His hair fell across his face, obscuring his eyes. Levi pushed it out of his face, smoothing his fingers across Eren’s cheek.

Eren dropped his forehead to Levi’s shoulder, letting out a moan as he pushed inside of him. Levi wrapped his arms around Eren’s broad back. “Don’t cry,” Eren said.

“I won’t,” Levi muttered. He was acutely aware of the hard wood of the bench digging into his back, his own body seizing around Eren’s cock, Eren’s cock pulsing inside of him, his breath against Levi’s skin, his nails digging into Levi’s thighs, holding his legs apart as he thrust into Levi as though he had all the time in the world—and Levi supposed he did.

Levi’s back arched, his mouth falling open, as he neared climax. Eren’s thrusts increased in speed, his pants heavier in Levi’s ears, the bench creaking. Levi bit down on Eren’s shoulder, his teeth sinking through his skin as easily as water.

His whole body narrowed down to a single point of pleasure as he shuddered, gasping, through his orgasm. Levi collapsed, limp, his hands slipping from Eren’s back and his teeth falling from his shoulder. He’d left two small pinpricks in Eren’s otherwise unblemished skin.

Eren continued to thrust inside of him for a little while after. Levi marveled in the feeling of his cock climaxing inside of him, his muscles clenching and unclenching, his lips pressed firmly into Levi’s neck.

After Eren finished, he pulled out of him, leaving Levi a little stunned and dazed on the bench. Eren straightened up, tugging Levi into his lap. He tucked Levi’s head underneath his chin, kissing his hairline.

As the high from his orgasm came down, the weight of the future settled in. Levi played with the hem of Eren’s shirt, listening to the insects buzzing and humming in the night.

Eren had said they couldn’t undo what had happened. From now on, he would always be a vampire. His childhood home, his house by the sea, was gone to facelessness and time, grayed out like the curling edges of a paper sopping with water. He could never go back to that.

“Tell me, Levi,” Eren whispered, his voice rich and soft in the darkness, a tone Levi wanted to hear again and again, “is it really so bad to spend an eternity with me, in a castle by the sea?”

An answer bloomed out of the faded twilight, as readily as though it had always been there.

“No,” Levi said, cupping Eren’s face. “No, it isn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KUDOS AND COMMENTS!!!
> 
> I never imagined that anyone would actually want to read this fic, much less enjoy it. So thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
> 
> I hope that, finally, any lingering questions have been cleared up and that the ending was at least somewhat satisfying. I know I had a lot of trouble writing it, and I'm still not entirely happy with it, but at this point, I have so many other projects going on that I don't anticipate going back and changing it.
> 
> I have another draft of a different fic finished, so please be on the lookout for it! (It's not in the same genre as Many Masks, though.)
> 
> Thank you again!!
> 
> ([tumblr](http://erenthebestjaeger.tumblr.com))


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